Telecommunications apparatus and methods

ABSTRACT

A method of communicating data between a base station and a plurality of terminal devices in a wireless telecommunications system. The method comprises transmitting data from the base station to the plurality of terminal devices in a multicast transmission and transmitting response signals from the terminal devices to the base station to indicate whether the respective terminal devices have successfully received the multicast transmission. The use of a multicast transmission provides an efficient mechanism for communicating the same data to a plurality of terminal device, for example as might be desired in a machine-type communication network. In combination with this, the use of individual response signals, such as ACK/NACK signalling, from the terminal devices allows the base station, or other entity, such as a machine-type communications server, to track which terminal devices have indicated successful receipt of the multicast transmission, and to instigate an appropriate re-transmission protocol accordingly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods, systems and apparatus fortransmitting data in mobile telecommunication systems, and in particulartransmitting data in a multicast transmission.

Third and fourth generation mobile telecommunication systems, such asthose based on the 3GPP defined UMTS and Long Term Evolution (LTE)architecture are able to support more sophisticated services than simplevoice and messaging services offered by previous generations of mobiletelecommunication systems.

For example, with the improved radio interface and enhanced data ratesprovided by LTE systems, a user is able to enjoy high data rateapplications such as mobile video streaming and mobile videoconferencing that would previously only have been available via a fixedline data connection. The demand to deploy third and fourth generationnetworks is therefore strong and the coverage area of these networks,i.e. geographic locations where access to the networks is possible, isexpected to increase rapidly.

The anticipated widespread deployment of third and fourth generationnetworks has led to the parallel development of a class of devices andapplications which, rather than taking advantage of the high data ratesavailable, instead take advantage of the robust radio interface andincreasing ubiquity of the coverage area. Examples include so-calledmachine type communication (MTC) applications, which are typified bysemi-autonomous or autonomous wireless communication devices (i.e. MTCdevices) communicating small amounts of data on a relatively infrequentbasis. Examples include so-called smart meters which, for example, arelocated in a customer's house and periodically transmit information backto a central MTC server data relating to the customers consumption of autility such as gas, water, electricity and so on. Further informationon characteristics of MTC-type devices can be found, for example, in thecorresponding standards, such as ETSI TS 122 368 V10.530(2011-July)/3GPP TS 22.368 version 10.5.0 Release 10) [1].

Multicast data transmission is an established technique for efficientlycommunicating content, for example, streaming media, to multiplerecipients in an efficient manner. It can be foreseen that multicastdata transmissions may in future be used more and more, for example, totransmit operational data, e.g. software updates, to a plurality of MTCconnected to a server through a wireless network.

Furthermore, whilst it can be convenient for a terminal such as an MTCtype terminal to take advantage of the wide coverage area provided by athird or fourth generation mobile telecommunication network there are atpresent disadvantages. Unlike a conventional third or fourth generationterminal device such as a smartphone, an MTC-type terminal is preferablyrelatively simple and inexpensive. The type of functions performed bythe MTC-type terminal (e.g. collecting and reporting back data) do notrequire particularly complex processing to perform. However, third andfourth generation mobile telecommunication networks typically employadvanced data modulation techniques on the radio interface which canrequire more complex and expensive radio transceivers to implement. Itis usually justified to include such complex transceivers in asmartphone as a smartphone will typically require a powerful processorto perform typical smartphone type functions. However, as indicatedabove, there is now a desire to use relatively inexpensive and lesscomplex devices to communicate using LTE type networks. In parallel withthis drive to provide network accessibility to devices having differentoperational functionality, e.g. reduced bandwidth operation, is a desireto optimise the use of the available bandwidth for communicating withsuch devices, for example using multicast techniques.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first as aspect of the invention there is provided amethod of communicating data in a wireless telecommunications system,the method comprising: transmitting data from a base station to aplurality of terminal devices in a multicast transmission; andtransmitting response signals from respective ones of the terminaldevices to the base station in response to the multicast transmission toindicate whether the respective terminal devices have successfullyreceived the multicast transmission.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprisesconveying to respective ones of the terminal devices an indication of anuplink transmission resource to be used for their response signal, forexample, an indication of a time, code and/or frequency resource.

In accordance with some embodiments the indication of an uplinktransmission resource is conveyed during a set-up procedure performedwhen the respective terminal devices connect to the wirelesstelecommunications system. The set-up procedure may comprise a RadioResource Connection request.

In accordance with some embodiments the indication of an uplinktransmission resource is conveyed in association with the multicasttransmission.

In accordance with some embodiments the indication of an uplinktransmission resource is conveyed by explicit signalling and in someembodiments the indication is conveyed by implicit signalling, forexample, within a radio network identifier.

In accordance with some embodiments the indication of an uplinktransmission resource comprises at least one of an indication of atransmission resource within an uplink sub-frame, an indication of anuplink sub-frame, and an indication of an uplink carrier.

In accordance with some embodiments the response signals are transmittedon a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH.

In accordance with some embodiments the response signals are transmittedin an uplink sub-frame of the wireless telecommunications systemoccurring at a time derived from the time of a downlink sub-framecontaining the multicast transmission.

In accordance with some embodiments different ones of the terminaldevices transmit their response signals in different uplink sub-framesand/or carriers of the wireless telecommunications system.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprisesdetermining from the response signals received at the base stationwhether any terminal device has not received the multicast transmission,and if so, re-transmitting the data from the base station.

In accordance with some embodiments the response signals from differentones of the terminal devices are transmitted using different uplinktransmission resources.

In accordance with some embodiments the wireless telecommunicationssystem may implement a virtual carrier such that the system operates indownlink over a first frequency bandwidth and in uplink over a secondfrequency bandwidth, and wherein the multicast transmission is madeusing downlink transmission resources on frequencies selected fromwithin a third frequency bandwidth which is smaller than and within thefirst frequency bandwidth; and wherein the response signals from theterminal devices are transmitted using uplink transmission resources onfrequencies selected from within a fourth frequency bandwidth which issmaller than and within the second frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, thefirst and second frequency bandwidths may be the same width and/or thethird and fourth frequency bandwidths may be the same width.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided awireless telecommunications system comprising a base station and aplurality of terminal devices, wherein the base station is configured totransmit data to a plurality of terminal devices in a multicasttransmission, and wherein the terminal devices are configured totransmit response signals to the base station in response to themulticast transmission to indicate whether they have successfullyreceived the multicast transmission.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a methodof operating a base station for communicating data in a wirelesstelecommunications system, the method comprising: transmitting data to aplurality of terminal devices in a multicast transmission; and receivingresponse signals from respective ones of the terminal devicestransmitted in response to the multicast transmission to indicatewhether the respective terminal devices have successfully received themulticast transmission.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a basestation for communicating data with a plurality of terminal devices in awireless telecommunications system, wherein the base station isconfigured to transmit data to the plurality of terminal devices in amulticast transmission, and wherein the base station is furtherconfigured to receive response signals transmitted by respective ones ofthe terminal devices in response to the multicast transmission toindicate whether they have successfully received the multicasttransmission.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided aAccording to another aspect of the invention there is provided a methodof operating a terminal device for the communication data in a wirelesstelecommunications system, the method comprising: receiving datatransmitted by a base station to a plurality of terminal devices in amulticast transmission; and transmitting a response signal to the basestation in response to the multicast transmission to indicate whetherthe terminal device successfully received the multicast transmission.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided aterminal device for receiving data in a wireless telecommunicationssystem, wherein the terminal device is configured to receive datatransmitted by a base station to a plurality of terminal devices in amulticast transmission, and wherein the terminal device is furtherconfigured to transmit a response signal to the base station in responseto the multicast transmission to indicate whether the terminal devicesuccessfully received the multicast transmission.

It will be appreciated that features and aspects of the inventiondescribed above in relation to the first and other aspects of theinvention are equally applicable and may be combined with embodiments ofthe invention according to the different aspects of the invention asappropriate, and not just in the specific combinations described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample only with reference to the accompanying drawings where likeparts are provided with corresponding reference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 provides a schematic diagram illustrating an example of aconventional mobile telecommunication network;

FIG. 2 provides a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional LTEradio frame;

FIG. 3 provides a schematic diagram illustrating an example of aconventional LTE downlink radio sub-frame;

FIG. 4 provides a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional LTE“camp-on” procedure;

FIG. 5 provides a schematic diagram illustrating an LTE downlink radiosub-frame in which a virtual carrier has been inserted in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 provides a schematic diagram illustrating an adapted LTE“camp-on” procedure for camping on to a virtual carrier;

FIG. 7 provides a schematic diagram illustrating LTE downlink radiosub-frames in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 provides a schematic diagram illustrating a physical broadcastchannel (PBCH);

FIG. 9 provides a schematic diagram illustrating an LTE downlink radiosub-frame in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 provides a schematic diagram illustrating an LTE downlink radiosub-frame in which a virtual carrier has been inserted in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 11A to 11D provide schematic diagrams illustrating positioning oflocation signals within a LTE downlink sub-frame according toembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 12 provides a schematic diagram illustrating a group of sub-framesin which two virtual carriers change location within a host carrier bandaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 13A to 13C provide schematic diagrams illustrating LTE uplinksub-frames in which an uplink virtual carrier has been inserted inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 provides a schematic diagram showing part of an adapted LTEmobile telecommunication network arranged in accordance with an exampleof the present invention;

FIG. 15 schematically represents an example allocation of transmissionresources between a host and virtual carrier for both uplink anddownlink in a LTE mobile telecommunication network arranged according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 schematically shows a mobile telecommunication networkarchitecture configured to operate in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 17A schematically represents allocated resources for downlinktransmissions and associated uplink acknowledgement/non-acknowledgementsignals for a virtual carrier;

FIG. 17B schematically represents available resources for a PhysicalUplink Control Channel (PUCCH) for a virtual carrier;

FIG. 18A schematically represents allocated resources for downlinkmulticast transmissions and associated uplinkacknowledgement/non-acknowledgement signals according to variousembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18B is a ladder diagram schematically representing a signallingmechanism for causing different terminal devices to send uplinkacknowledgement/non-acknowledgement signalling associated with downlinkmulticast transmissions using different transmission resources;

FIGS. 19 and 20 schematically represent allocated resources for downlinkmulticast transmissions and associated uplinkacknowledgement/non-acknowledgement signalling according to differentembodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 21 and 22 are ladder diagrams schematically representingmechanisms for causing different terminal devices to send uplinkacknowledgement/non-acknowledgement signalling associated with downlinkmulticast transmissions using different transmission resources.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention may in particular be employed within thecontext of what might be termed “virtual carriers” operating within abandwidth of a “host carriers”. The concepts of virtual carriers aredescribed in co-pending UK patent applications numbered GB 1101970.0[2], GB 1101981.7 [3], GB 1101966.8 [4], GB 1101983.3 [5], GB 1101853.8[6], GB 1101982.5 [7], GB 1101980.9 [8] and GB 1101972.6 [9], thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The reader isreferred to these co-pending applications for more details, but for easeof reference an overview of the concept of virtual carriers is alsoprovided here.

Conventional Network

FIG. 1 provides a schematic diagram illustrating some basicfunctionality of a conventional mobile telecommunications network.

The network includes a plurality of base stations 101 connected to acore network 102. Each base station provides a coverage area 103 (i.e. acell) within which data can be communicated to and from terminal devices104. Data is transmitted from base stations 101 to terminal devices 104within their respective coverage areas 103 via a radio downlink. Data istransmitted from terminal devices 104 to the base stations 101 via aradio uplink. The core network 102 routes data to and from the terminaldevices 104 via the respective base stations 101 and provides functionssuch as authentication, mobility management, charging and so on.

Mobile telecommunications systems such as those arranged in accordancewith the 3GPP defined Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture use anorthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) based interface for theradio downlink (so-called OFDMA) and the radio uplink (so-calledSC-FDMA). FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an OFDM basedLTE downlink radio frame 201. The LTE downlink radio frame istransmitted from an LTE base station (known as an enhanced Node B) andlasts 10 ms. The downlink radio frame comprises ten sub-frames, eachsub-frame lasting 1 ms. A primary synchronisation signal (PSS) and asecondary synchronisation signal (SSS) are transmitted in the first andsixth sub-frames of the LTE frame. A primary broadcast channel (PBCH) istransmitted in the first sub-frame of the LTE frame. The PSS, SSS andPBCH are discussed in more detail below.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a grid which illustrates the structureof an example conventional downlink LTE sub-frame. The sub-framecomprises a predetermined number of symbols which are transmitted over a1 ms period. Each symbol comprises a predetermined number of orthogonalsub-carriers distributed across the bandwidth of the downlink radiocarrier.

The example sub-frame shown in FIG. 3 comprises 14 symbols and 1200sub-carriers spread across a 20 MHz bandwidth. The smallest allocationof user data for transmission in LTE is a resource block comprisingtwelve sub-carriers transmitted over one slot (0.5 sub-frame). Forclarity, in FIG. 3, each individual resource element is not shown,instead each individual box in the sub-frame grid corresponds to twelvesub-carriers transmitted on one symbol.

FIG. 3 shows in hatching resource allocations for four LTE terminals340, 341, 342, 343. For example, the resource allocation 342 for a firstLTE terminal (UE 1) extends over five blocks of twelve sub-carriers(i.e. 60 sub-carriers), the resource allocation 343 for a second LTEterminal (UE2) extends over six blocks of twelve sub-carriers and so on.

Control channel data is transmitted in a control region 300 (indicatedby dotted-shading in FIG. 3) of the sub-frame comprising the first nsymbols of the sub-frame where n can vary between one and three symbolsfor channel bandwidths of 3 MHz or greater and where n can vary betweentwo and four symbols for channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz. For the sake ofproviding a concrete example, the following description relates to hostcarriers with a channel bandwidth of 3 MHz or greater so the maximumvalue of n will be 3. The data transmitted in the control region 300includes data transmitted on the physical downlink control channel(PDCCH), the physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) and thephysical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH).

PDCCH contains control data indicating which sub-carriers on whichsymbols of the sub-frame have been allocated to specific LTE terminals.Thus, the PDCCH data transmitted in the control region 300 of thesub-frame shown in FIG. 3 would indicate that UE1 has been allocated theblock of resources identified by reference numeral 342, that UE2 hasbeen allocated the block of resources identified by reference numeral343, and so on.

PCFICH contains control data indicating the size of the control region(i.e. between one and three symbols).

PHICH contains HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Request) data indicating whetheror not previously transmitted uplink data has been successfully receivedby the network.

Symbols in a central band 310 of the time-frequency resource grid areused for the transmission of information including the primarysynchronisation signal (PSS), the secondary synchronisation signal (SSS)and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). This central band 310 istypically 72 sub-carriers wide (corresponding to a transmissionbandwidth of 1.08 MHz). The PSS and SSS are synchronisation signals thatonce detected allow an LTE terminal device to achieve framesynchronisation and determine the cell identity of the enhanced Node Btransmitting the downlink signal. The PBCH carries information about thecell, comprising a master information block (MIB) that includesparameters that LTE terminals use to properly access the cell. Datatransmitted to individual LTE terminals on the physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH) can be transmitted in other resource elements of thesub-frame. Further explanation of these channels is provided below.

FIG. 3 also shows a region of PDSCH containing system information andextending over a bandwidth of R₃₄₄. A conventional LTE frame will alsoinclude reference signals which are discussed further below but notshown in FIG. 3 in the interests of clarity.

The number of sub-carriers in an LTE channel can vary depending on theconfiguration of the transmission network. Typically this variation isfrom 72 sub carriers contained within a 1.4 MHz channel bandwidth to1200 sub-carriers contained within a 20 MHz channel bandwidth (asschematically shown in FIG. 3). As is known in the art, data transmittedon the PDCCH, PCFICH and PHICH is typically distributed on thesub-carriers across the entire bandwidth of the sub-frame to provide forfrequency diversity. Therefore a conventional LTE terminal must be ableto receive the entire channel bandwidth in order to receive and decodethe control region.

FIG. 4 illustrates an LTE “camp-on” process, that is, the processfollowed by a terminal so that it can decode downlink transmissionswhich are sent by a base station via a downlink channel. Using thisprocess, the terminal can identify the parts of the transmissions thatinclude system information for the cell and thus decode configurationinformation for the cell.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, in a conventional LTE camp-on procedure, theterminal first synchronizes with the base station (step 400) using thePSS and SSS in the centre band and then decodes the PBCH (step 401).Once the terminal has performed steps 400 and 401, it is synchronizedwith the base station.

For each sub-frame, the terminal then decodes the PCFICH which isdistributed across the entire bandwidth of carrier 320 (step 402). Asdiscussed above, an LTE downlink carrier can be up to 20 MHz wide (1200sub-carriers) and an LTE terminal therefore has to have the capabilityto receive and decode transmissions on a 20 MHz bandwidth in order todecode the PCFICH. At the PCFICH decoding stage, with a 20 MHz carrierband, the terminal operates at a much larger bandwidth (bandwidth ofR₃₂₀) than during steps 400 and 401 (bandwidth of R₃₁₀) relating tosynchronization and PBCH decoding.

The terminal then ascertains the PHICH locations (step 403) and decodesthe PDCCH (step 404), in particular for identifying system informationtransmissions and for identifying its personal allocation grants. Theallocation grants are used by the terminal to locate system informationand to locate its data in the PDSCH. Both system information andpersonal allocations are transmitted on PDSCH and scheduled within thecarrier band 320. Steps 403 and 404 also require the terminal to operateon the entire bandwidth R320 of the carrier band.

At steps 402 to 404, the terminal decodes information contained in thecontrol region 300 of a sub-frame. As explained above, in LTE, the threecontrol channels mentioned above (PCFICH, PHICH and PDCCH) can be foundacross the control region 300 of the carrier where the control regionextends over the range R₃₂₀ and occupies the first one, two or threeOFDM symbols of each sub-frame as discussed above. In a sub-frame,typically the control channels do not use all the resource elementswithin the control region 300, but they are scattered across the entireregion, such that a LTE terminal has to be able to simultaneouslyreceive the entire control region 300 for decoding each of the threecontrol channels.

The terminal can then decode the PDSCH (step 405) which contains systeminformation or data transmitted for this terminal.

As explained above, in an LTE sub-frame the PDSCH generally occupiesgroups of resource elements which are neither in the control region norin the resource elements occupied by PSS, SSS or PBCH. The data in theblocks of resource elements 340, 341, 342, 343 allocated to thedifferent mobile communication terminals (UEs) shown in FIG. 3 have asmaller bandwidth than the bandwidth of the entire carrier, although todecode these blocks a terminal first receives the PDCCH spread acrossthe frequency range R₃₂₀ to determine if the PDCCH indicates that aPDSCH resource is allocated to the UE and should be decoded. Once a UEhas received the entire sub-frame, it can then decode the PDSCH in therelevant frequency range (if any) indicated by the PDCCH. So forexample, UE 1 discussed above decodes the whole control region 300 andthen the data in the resource block 342.

Virtual Downlink Carrier

Certain classes of devices, such as MTC devices (e.g. semi-autonomous orautonomous wireless communication devices such as smart meters asdiscussed above), support communication applications that arecharacterised by the transmission of small amounts of data at relativelyinfrequent intervals and can thus be considerably less complex thanconventional LTE terminals. In many scenarios, providing low capabilityterminals such as those with a conventional high-performance LTEreceiver unit capable of receiving and processing data from an LTEdownlink frame across the full carrier bandwidth can be overly complexfor a device which only needs to communicate small amounts of data. Thismay therefore limit the practicality of a widespread deployment of lowcapability MTC type devices in an LTE network. It is preferable insteadto provide low capability terminals such as MTC devices with a simplerreceiver unit which is more proportionate with the amount of data likelyto be transmitted to the terminal. As set out below, in accordance withexamples of the present invention a “virtual carrier” is provided withinthe transmission resources of a conventional OFDM type downlink carrier(i.e. a “host carrier”). Unlike data transmitted on a conventional OFDMtype downlink carrier, data transmitted on the virtual carrier can bereceived and decoded without needing to process the full bandwidth ofthe downlink host OFDM carrier. Accordingly, data transmitted on thevirtual carrier can be received and decoded using a reduced complexityreceiver unit.

FIG. 5 provides a schematic diagram illustrating an LTE downlinksub-frame which includes a virtual carrier inserted in a host carrier inaccordance with an example of the present invention.

In keeping with a conventional LTE downlink sub-frame, the first nsymbols (n is three in FIG. 5) form the control region 300 which isreserved for the transmission of downlink control data such as datatransmitted on the PDCCH. However, as can be seen from FIG. 5, outsideof the control region 300 the LTE downlink sub-frame includes a group ofresource elements positioned in this example below the central band 310which form a virtual carrier 501. As explained further below, thevirtual carrier 501 is adapted so that data transmitted on the virtualcarrier 501 can be treated as logically distinct from data transmittedin the remaining parts of the host carrier and can be decoded withoutdecoding all the control data from the control region 300. Although FIG.5 shows the virtual carrier occupying frequency resources below thecentre band, in general the virtual carrier can occupy other frequencyresources, for example, above the centre band or including the centreband. If the virtual carrier is configured to overlap any resources usedby the PSS, SSS or PBCH of the host carrier, or any other signaltransmitted by the host carrier that a terminal device operating on thehost carrier would require for correct operation and expect to find in aknown predetermined location, the signals on the virtual carrier can bearranged such that these aspects of the host carrier signal aremaintained.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, data transmitted on the virtual carrier 501is transmitted across a limited bandwidth. This might be any suitablebandwidth smaller than that of the host carrier. In the example shown inFIG. 5 the virtual carrier is transmitted across a bandwidth comprising12 blocks of 12 sub-carriers (i.e. 144 sub-carriers), which isequivalent to a 2.16 MHz transmission bandwidth. Accordingly, a terminalusing the virtual carrier need only be equipped with a receiver capableof receiving and processing data transmitted over a bandwidth of 2.16MHz. This enables low capability terminals (for example MTC typeterminals) to be provided with simplified receiver units yet still beable to operate within an OFDM type communication network which, asexplained above, conventionally requires terminals to be equipped withreceivers capable of receiving and processing an OFDM signal across theentire bandwidth of the signal.

As explained above, in OFDM-based mobile communication systems such asLTE, downlink data is dynamically assigned to be transmitted ondifferent sub-carriers on a sub-frame by sub-frame basis. Accordingly,in every sub-frame the network signals which sub-carriers on whichsymbols contain data relevant to which terminals (i.e. downlink grantsignalling).

As can be seen from FIG. 3, in a conventional downlink LTE sub-framethis information is transmitted on the PDCCH during the first symbol orsymbols of the sub-frame. However, as previously explained, theinformation transmitted in the PDCCH is spread across the entirebandwidth of the sub-frame and therefore cannot be received by a mobilecommunication terminal with a simplified receiver unit capable only ofreceiving the reduced bandwidth virtual carrier.

Accordingly, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the final symbols of the virtualcarrier can be reserved as a control region 502 for the virtual carrierfor the transmission of control data indicating which resource elementsof the virtual carrier 501 have been allocated to user equipment (UEs)using the virtual carrier. In some examples the number of symbolscomprising the virtual carrier control region 502 might be fixed, forexample three symbols. In other examples the virtual carrier controlregion 502 can vary in size, for example between one and three symbols,as with the control region 300.

The virtual carrier control region can be located at any suitableposition, for example in the first few symbols of the virtual carrier.In the example of FIG. 5 this could mean positioning the virtual carriercontrol region on the fourth, fifth and sixth symbols. However, fixingthe position of the virtual carrier control region in the final symbolsof the sub-frame can be useful because the position of the virtualcarrier control region will not vary in dependence on the number ofsymbols of the host carrier control region 300. This can help simplifythe processing undertaken by mobile communication terminals receivingdata on the virtual carrier because there is no need for terminals todetermine a position of the virtual carrier control region everysub-frame if it is known that it will always be positioned in the finaln symbols of the sub-frame.

In a further embodiment, the virtual carrier control symbols mayreference virtual carrier PDSCH transmissions in a separate sub-frame.

In some examples the virtual carrier may be located within the centreband 310 of the downlink sub-frame. This can help reduce the impact onhost carrier PDSCH resources caused by the introduction of the virtualcarrier within the host carrier bandwidth since the resources occupiedby the PSS/SSS and PBCH would be contained within the virtual carrierregion and not the remaining host carrier PDSCH region. Therefore,depending on for example the expected virtual carrier throughput, thelocation of a virtual carrier can be appropriately chosen to eitherexist inside or outside the centre band according to whether the host orvirtual carrier is chosen to bear the overhead of the PSS, SSS and PBCH.

Virtual Carrier “Camp-on” Process

As explained above, before a conventional LTE terminal can begintransmitting and receiving data in a cell, it first camps on to thecell. An adapted camp-on process can be provided for terminals using thevirtual carrier.

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram schematically illustrating a camp-on processaccording to an example of the present invention. There are two branchesshown in FIG. 6. Different steps of the process associated with a UEintending to use the virtual carrier are shown under the general heading“virtual carrier”. The steps shown under the general heading “legacyLTE” are associated with a UE intending to use the host carrier, andthese steps correspond to the steps of FIG. 4. In this example, thefirst two steps 400, 401 of the camp-on procedure are common to both thevirtual carrier and host (legacy LTE) carrier.

The virtual carrier camp-on process is explained with reference to theexample sub-frame shown in FIG. 5 in which a virtual carrier with abandwidth of 144 sub-carriers is inserted within the operating bandwidthof a host carrier with a bandwidth corresponding to 1200 sub-carriers.As discussed above, a terminal having a receiver unit with anoperational bandwidth of less than that of the host carrier cannot fullydecode data in the control region of sub-frames of the host carrier.However, a receiver unit of a terminal having an operational bandwidthof only twelve blocks of twelve sub-carriers (i.e. 2.16 MHz) can receivecontrol and user data transmitted on this example virtual carrier 502.

As noted above, in the example of FIG. 6, the first steps 400 and 401for a virtual carrier terminal are the same as the conventional camp-onprocess shown in FIG. 4, although a virtual carrier terminal may extractadditional information from the MIB as described below. Both types ofterminals (i.e. virtual carrier terminals and host/legacy carrierterminals) can use the PSS/SSS and PBCH to synchronize with the basestation using the information carried on the 72 sub-carrier centre bandwithin the host carrier. However, where the conventional LTE terminalsthen continue with the process by performing the PCFICH decoding step402, which requires a receiver unit capable of receiving and decodingthe host carrier control region 300, a terminal camping on to the cellto receive data on the virtual carrier (which may be referred to as a“virtual carrier terminal”) performs steps 606 and 607 instead.

In a further embodiment of the present invention a separatesynchronisation and PBCH functionality can be provided for the virtualcarrier device as opposed to re-using the same conventional initialcamp-on processes of steps 400 and 401 of the host carrier device.

At step 606, the virtual carrier terminal locates a virtual carrier, ifany is provided within the host carrier, using a virtualcarrier-specific step. Various examples of how this step may beperformed are discussed further below. Once the virtual carrier terminalhas located a virtual carrier, it can access information within thevirtual carrier. For example, if the virtual carrier mirrors theconventional LTE resource allocation method, the virtual carrierterminal may proceed to decode control portions within the virtualcarrier, which can, for example, indicate which resource elements withinthe virtual carrier have been allocated for a specific virtual carrierterminal or for system information. For example, FIG. 7 shows the blocksof resource elements 350 to 352 within virtual carrier 330 that havebeen allocated for the sub-frame SF2. However, there is no requirementfor the virtual carrier terminal to follow or mirror the conventionalLTE process (e.g. steps 402-404) and these steps may for example beimplemented very differently for a virtual carrier camp-on process.

Regardless of the virtual carrier terminal following a LTE-like step ora different type of step when performing step 607, the virtual carrierterminal can then decode the allocated resource elements at step 608 andthereby receive data transmitted by the base station broadcasting thevirtual carrier. The data decoded in step 608 may include, for example,the remainder of the system information containing details of thenetwork configuration.

Even though the virtual carrier terminal does not have the bandwidthcapabilities to decode and receive downlink data if it was transmittedin the host carrier using conventional LTE, it can still access avirtual carrier within the host carrier having a limited bandwidthwhilst re-using the initial LTE steps. Step 608 may also be implementedin a LTE-like manner or in a different manner. For example, multiplevirtual carrier terminals may share a virtual carrier and have grantsallocated to manage the virtual carrier sharing as shown in SF2 in FIG.7, or, in another example, a virtual carrier terminal may have theentire virtual carrier allocated for its own downlink transmissions, orthe virtual carrier may be entirely allocated to a virtual carrierterminal for a certain number of sub-frame only, etc.

There is thus a large degree of flexibility provided for the virtualcarrier camp-on process. There is, for example, the ability to adjust abalance between re-using or mirroring conventional LTE steps orprocesses, thereby reducing the terminal complexity and the need toimplement new elements, and adding new virtual carrier specific aspectsor implementations, thereby potentially optimizing the use ofnarrow-band virtual carriers, as LTE has been designed with thelarger-band host carriers in mind.

Downlink Virtual Carrier Detection

As discussed above, the virtual carrier terminal should locate (withinthe time-frequency resource grid of the host carrier) the virtualcarrier before it can receive and decode transmissions on the virtualcarrier. Several alternatives are available for the virtual carrierpresence and location determination, which can be implemented separatelyor in combination. Some of these options are discussed below.

To facilitate the virtual carrier detection, the virtual carrierlocation information may be provided to the virtual carrier terminalsuch that it can locate the virtual carrier, if any exists, more easily.For example, such location information may comprise an indication thatone or more virtual carriers are provided within the host carrier, orthat the host carrier does not currently provide any virtual carrier. Itmay also comprise an indication of the virtual carrier's bandwidth, forexample in MHz or blocks of resource elements. Alternatively, or incombination, the virtual carrier location information may comprise thevirtual carrier's centre frequency and bandwidth, thereby giving thevirtual carrier terminal the location and bandwidth of any activevirtual carrier. In the event the virtual carrier is to be found at adifferent frequency position in each sub-frame, according, for example,to a pseudo-random hopping algorithm, the location information can, forexample, indicate a pseudo random parameter. Such parameters may includea starting frame and parameters used for the pseudo-random algorithm.Using these pseudo-random parameters, the virtual carrier terminal canthen know where the virtual carrier can be found for any sub-frame.

On implementation feature associated with little change to the virtualcarrier terminal (as compared with a conventional LTE terminal) would beto include location information for the virtual carrier within the PBCH,which already carries the Master Information Block, or MIB in the hostcarrier centre band. As shown in FIG. 8, the MIB consists of 24 bits (3bits to indicate DL bandwidth, 8 bits to indicate the System FrameNumber or SFN, and 3 bits regarding the PHICH configuration). The MIBtherefore comprises 10 spare bits that can be used to carry locationinformation in respect of one or more virtual carriers. For example,FIG. 9 shows an example where the PBCH includes the MIB and locationinformation (“LI”) for pointing any virtual carrier terminal to avirtual carrier.

Alternatively, virtual carrier location information could be provided inthe centre band, outside of the PBCH. It can for example be alwaysprovided after and adjacent to the PBCH. By providing the locationinformation in the centre band but outside of the PBCH, the conventionalPBCH is not modified for the purpose of using virtual carriers, but avirtual carrier terminal can easily find the location information inorder to detect the virtual carrier, if any.

The virtual carrier location information, if provided, can be providedelsewhere in the host carrier, but it may be advantageous to provide itin the centre band, for example because a virtual carrier terminal mayconfigure its receiver to operate on the centre band and the virtualcarrier terminal then does not need to adjust its receiver settings forfinding the location information.

Depending on the amount of virtual carrier location informationprovided, the virtual carrier terminal can either adjust its receiver toreceive the virtual carrier transmissions, or it may require furtherlocation information before it can do so.

If for example, the virtual carrier terminal was provided with locationinformation indicating a virtual carrier presence and/or a virtualcarrier bandwidth but not indicating any details as to the exact virtualcarrier frequency range, or if the virtual carrier terminal was notprovided with any location information, the virtual carrier terminalcould then scan the host carrier for a virtual carrier (e.g. performinga so-called blind search process). Scanning the host carrier for avirtual carrier can be based on different approaches, some of which willbe presented below.

According to a first approach, a virtual carrier might only be insertedin certain predetermined locations, as illustrated for example in FIG.10 for a four-location example. The virtual carrier terminal then scansthe four locations L1-L4 for any virtual carrier. If and when thevirtual carrier terminal detects a virtual carrier, it can then“camp-on” the virtual carrier to receive downlink data as describedabove. In this approach, the virtual carrier terminal may be providedwith the possible virtual carrier locations in advance, for example theymay be stored as a network-specific setting in an internal memory.Detection of a virtual carrier could be accomplished by seeking todecode a particular physical channel on the virtual carrier. Thesuccessful decoding of such a channel, indicated for example by asuccessful cyclic redundancy check (CRC) on decoded data, would indicatethe successful location of the virtual carrier

According to a second approach, the virtual carrier may include locationsignals such that a virtual carrier terminal scanning the host carriercan detect such signals to identify the presence of a virtual carrier.Examples of possible location signals are illustrated in FIGS. 11A to11D. In the examples of FIGS. 11A to 11C, the virtual carrier regularlysends an arbitrary location signal such that a terminal scanning afrequency range where the location signal is would detect this signal.An “arbitrary” signal is intended here to include any signal that doesnot carry any information as such, or is not meant to be interpreted,but merely includes a specific signal or pattern that a virtual carrierterminal can detect. This can for example be a series of positive bitsacross the entire location signal, an alternation of 0 and 1 across thelocation signal, or any other suitable arbitrary signal. It isnoteworthy that the location signal may be made of adjacent blocks ofresource elements or may be formed of non adjacent blocks. For example,it may be located at every other block of resource elements at the “top”(i.e. upper frequency limit) of the virtual carrier.

In the example of FIG. 11A, the location signal 353 extends across therange R₃₃₀ of the virtual carrier 330 and is always found at the sameposition in the virtual carrier within a sub-frame. If the virtualcarrier terminal knows where to look for a location signal in a virtualcarrier sub-frame, it can then simplify its scanning process by onlyscanning this position within a sub-frame for a location signal. FIG.11B shows a similar example where every sub-frame includes a locationsignal 354 comprising two parts: one at the top corner and one at thebottom corner of the virtual carrier sub-frame, at the end of thissub-frame. Such a location signal may be useful if, for example, thevirtual carrier terminal does not know the bandwidth of the virtualcarrier in advance as it can facilitate a clear detection of the top andbottom frequency edges of the virtual carrier band.

In the example of FIG. 11C, a location signal 355 is provided in a firstsub-frame SF1, but not in a second sub-frame SF2. The location signalcan for example be provided every two sub-frames. The frequency of thelocation signals can be chosen to adjust a balance between reducingscanning time and reducing overhead. In other words, the more often thelocation signal is provided, the less long it takes a terminal to detecta virtual carrier but the more overhead there is.

In the example of FIG. 11D, a location signal is provided where thislocation signal is not an arbitrary signal as in FIGS. 11A to 11C, butis a signal that includes information for virtual carrier terminals. Thevirtual carrier terminals can detect this signal when they scan for avirtual carrier and the signal may include information in respect of,for example, the virtual carrier bandwidth or any other virtualcarrier-related information (location or non-location information). Whendetecting this signal, the virtual carrier terminal can thereby detectthe presence and location of the virtual carrier. As shown in FIG. 11D,the location signal can, like an arbitrary location signal, be found atdifferent locations within the sub-frame, and the location may vary on aper-sub-frame basis.

Dynamic Variation of Control Region Size of Host Carrier

As explained above, in LTE the number of symbols that make up thecontrol region of a downlink sub-frame varies dynamically depending onthe quantity of control data that needs to be transmitted. Typically,this variation is between one and three symbols. As will be understoodwith reference to FIG. 5, variation in the width of the host carriercontrol region will cause a corresponding variance in the number ofsymbols available for the virtual carrier. For example, as can be seenin FIG. 5, when the control region is three symbols in length and thereare 14 symbols in the sub-frame, the virtual carrier is eleven symbolslong. However, if in the next sub-frame the control region of the hostcarrier were reduced to one symbol, there would be thirteen symbolsavailable for the virtual carrier in that sub-frame.

When a virtual carrier is inserted into a LTE host carrier, mobilecommunication terminals receiving data on the virtual carrier need to beable to determine the number of symbols in the control region of eachhost carrier sub-frame to determine the number of symbols in the virtualcarrier in that sub-frame if they are to be able to use all availablesymbols that are not used by the host carrier control region.

Conventionally, the number of symbols forming the control region issignalled in the first symbol of every sub-frame in the PCFICH. However,the PCFICH is typically distributed across the entire bandwidth of thedownlink LTE sub-frame and is therefore transmitted on sub-carrierswhich virtual carrier terminals capable only of receiving the virtualcarrier cannot receive. Accordingly, in one embodiment, any symbolsacross which the control region could possibly extend are predefined asnull symbols on the virtual carrier, i.e. the length of the virtualsub-carrier is set at (m−n) symbols, where m is the total number ofsymbols in a sub-frame and n is the maximum number of symbols of thecontrol region. Thus, resource elements are never allocated for downlinkdata transmission on the virtual carrier during the first n symbols ofany given sub-frame.

Although this embodiment is simple to implement it will be spectrallyinefficient because during sub-frames when the control region of thehost carrier has fewer than the maximum number of symbols, there will beunused symbols in the virtual carrier.

In another embodiment, the number of symbols in the control region ofthe host carrier is explicitly signalled in the virtual carrier itself.Once the number of symbols in the control region of the host carrier isknown, the number of symbols in the virtual carrier can be calculated bysubtracting the total number of symbols in the sub-frame from thisnumber.

In one example an explicit indication of the host carrier control regionsize is given by certain information bits in the virtual carrier controlregion. In other words an explicit signalling message is inserted at apredefined position in the virtual carrier control region 502. Thispredefined position is known by each terminal adapted to receive data onthe virtual carrier.

In another example, the virtual carrier includes a predefined signal,the location of which indicates the number of symbols in the controlregion of the host carriers. For example, a predefined signal could betransmitted on one of three predetermined blocks of resource elements.When a terminal receives the sub-frame it scans for the predefinedsignal. If the predefined signal is found in the first block of resourceelements this indicates that the control region of the host carriercomprises one symbol; if the predefined signal is found in the secondblock of resource elements this indicates that the control region of thehost carrier comprises two symbols and if the predefined signal is foundin the third block of resource elements this indicates that the controlregion of the host carrier comprises three symbols.

In another example, the virtual carrier terminal is arranged to firstattempt to decode the virtual carrier assuming that the control regionsize of the host carrier is one symbol. If this is not successful, thevirtual carrier terminal attempts to decode the virtual carrier assumingthat the control region size of the host carrier is two and so on, untilthe virtual carrier terminal successfully decodes the virtual carrier.

Downlink Virtual Carrier Reference Signals

As is known in the art, in OFDM-based transmission systems, such as LTE,a number of sub-carriers in symbols throughout the sub-frames aretypically reserved for the transmission of reference signals. Thereference signals are transmitted on sub-carriers distributed throughouta sub-frame across the channel bandwidth and across the OFDM symbols.The reference signals are arranged in a repeating pattern and can beused by a receiver to estimate the channel function applied to the datatransmitted on each sub-carrier using extrapolation and interpolationtechniques. These reference signals are also typically used foradditional purposes such as determining metrics for received signalpower indications, automatic frequency control metrics and automaticgain control metrics. In LTE the positions of the reference signalbearing sub-carriers within each sub-frame are predefined and aretherefore known at the receiver of each terminal.

In LTE downlink sub-frames, reference signals from each transmit antennaport are typically inserted on every sixth sub-carrier. Accordingly, ifa virtual carrier is inserted in an LTE downlink sub-frame, even if thevirtual carrier has a minimum bandwidth of one resource block (i.e.twelve sub-carriers) the virtual carrier will include at least somereference signal bearing sub-carriers.

There are sufficient reference signal bearing sub-carriers provided ineach sub-frame such that a receiver need not accurately receive everysingle reference signal to decode the data transmitted on the sub-frame.However, as will be understood the more reference signals that arereceived, the better a receiver will generally be able to estimate thechannel response, and hence fewer errors will typically be introducedinto the data decoded from the sub-frame. Accordingly, in order topreserve compatibility with LTE communication terminals receiving dataon the host carrier, in accordance with some examples of the presentinvention, the sub-carrier positions that would contain referencesignals in a conventional LTE sub-frame are retained in the virtualcarrier.

As will be understood, in accordance with examples of the presentinvention, terminals arranged to receive only the virtual carrierreceive a reduced number of sub-carriers compared to conventional LTEterminals which receive each sub-frame across the entire bandwidth ofthe sub-frame. As a result, the reduced capability terminals receivefewer reference signals over a narrower range of frequencies which mayresult in a less accurate channel estimation being generated.

In some examples a simplified virtual carrier terminal may have a lowermobility which requires fewer reference symbols to support channelestimation. However, in some examples of the present invention thedownlink virtual carrier includes additional reference signal bearingsub-carriers to enhance the accuracy of the channel estimation that thereduced capability terminals can generate.

In some examples the positions of the additional reference bearingsub-carriers are such that they are systematically interspersed withrespect to the positions of the conventional reference signal bearingsub-carriers thereby increasing the sampling frequency of the channelestimation when combined with the reference signals from the existingreference signal bearing sub-carriers. This allows an improved channelestimation of the channel to be generated by the reduced capabilityterminals across the bandwidth of the virtual carrier. In otherexamples, the positions of the additional reference bearing sub-carriersare such that they are systematically placed at the edge of thebandwidth of the virtual carrier thereby increasing the interpolationaccuracy of the virtual carrier channel estimates.

Alternative Virtual Carrier Arrangements

So far examples of the invention have been described generally in termsof a host carrier in which a single virtual carrier has been inserted asshown for example in FIG. 5. However, in some examples a host carriermay include more than one virtual carrier as shown for example in FIG.12. FIG. 12 shows an example in which two virtual carriers VC1 (330) andVC2 (331) are provided within a host carrier 320. In this example, thetwo virtual carriers change location within the host carrier bandaccording to a pseudo-random algorithm. However, in other examples, oneor both of the two virtual carriers may always be found in the samefrequency range within the host carrier frequency range and/or maychange position according to a different mechanism. In LTE, the numberof virtual carriers within a host carrier is only limited by the size ofthe host carrier. However, too many virtual carriers within the hostcarrier may unduly limit the bandwidth available for transmitting datato conventional LTE terminals and an operator may therefore decide on anumber of virtual carrier within a host carrier according to, forexample, a ratio of conventional LTE users/virtual carrier users.

In some examples the number of active virtual carriers can bedynamically adjusted such that it fits the current needs of conventionalLTE terminals and virtual carrier terminals. For example, if no virtualcarrier terminal is connected or if their access is to be intentionallylimited, the network can arrange to begin scheduling the transmission ofdata to LTE terminals within the sub-carriers previously reserved forthe virtual carrier. This process can be reversed if the number ofactive virtual carrier terminals begins to increase. In some examplesthe number of virtual carriers provided may be increased in response toan increase in the presence of virtual carrier terminals. For example ifthe number of virtual terminals present in a network or area of anetwork exceeds a threshold value, an additional virtual carrier isinserted in the host carrier. The network elements and/or networkoperator can thus activate or deactivate the virtual carriers wheneverappropriate.

The virtual carrier shown for example in FIG. 5 is 144 sub-carriers inbandwidth. However, in other examples a virtual carrier may be of anysize between twelve sub-carriers to 1188 sub-carriers (for a carrierwith a 1200 sub-carrier transmission bandwidth). Because in LTE thecentre band has a bandwidth of 72 sub-carriers, a virtual carrierterminal in an LTE environment preferentially has a receiver bandwidthof at least 72 sub-carriers (1.08 MHz) such that it can decode thecentre band 310, therefore a 72 sub-carrier virtual carrier may providea convenient implementation option. With a virtual carrier comprising 72sub-carriers, the virtual carrier terminal does not have to adjust thereceiver's bandwidth for camping on the virtual carrier which maytherefore reduce complexity of performing the camp-on process, but thereis no requirement to have the same bandwidth for the virtual carrier asfor the centre band and, as explained above, a virtual carrier based onLTE can be of any size between 12 to 1188 sub-carriers. For example, insome systems, a virtual carrier having a bandwidth of less than 72sub-carriers may be considered as a waste of the virtual carrierterminal's receiver resources, but from another point of view, it may beconsidered as reducing the impact of the virtual carrier on the hostcarrier by increasing the bandwidth available to conventional LTEterminals. The bandwidth of a virtual carrier can therefore be adjustedto achieve the desired balance between complexity, resource utilization,host carrier performance and requirements for virtual carrier terminals.

Uplink Transmission Frame

So far, the virtual carrier has been discussed primarily with referenceto the downlink, however in some examples a virtual carrier can also beinserted in the uplink.

In frequency division duplex (FDD) networks both the uplink and downlinkare active in all sub-frames, whereas in time division duplex (TDD)networks sub-frames can either be assigned to the uplink, to thedownlink, or further sub-divided into uplink and downlink portions.

In order to initiate a connection to a network, conventional LTEterminals make a random access request on the physical random accesschannel (PRACH). The PRACH is located in predetermined blocks ofresource elements in the uplink frame, the positions of which aresignaled to the LTE terminals in the system information signaled on thedownlink.

Additionally, when there is pending uplink data to be transmitted froman LTE terminal and the terminal does not already have any uplinkresources allocated to it, it can transmit a random access request PRACHto the base station. A decision is then made at the base station as towhich if any uplink resource is to be allocated to the terminal devicethat has made the request. Uplink resource allocations are then signaledto the LTE terminal on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)transmitted in the control region of the downlink sub-frame.

In LTE, transmissions from each terminal device are constrained tooccupy a set of contiguous resource blocks in a frame. For the physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH) the uplink resource allocation grantreceived from the base station will indicate which set of resourceblocks to use for that transmission, where these resource blocks couldbe located anywhere within the channel bandwidth.

The first resources used by the LTE physical uplink control channel(PUCCH) are located at both the upper and lower edge of the channel,where each PUCCH transmission occupies one resource block. In the firsthalf of a sub-frame this resource block is located at one channel edge,and in the second half of a sub-frame this resource block is located atthe opposite channel edge. As more PUCCH resources are required,additional resource blocks are assigned in a sequential manner, movinginward from the channel edges. Since PUCCH signals are code divisionmultiplexed, an LTE uplink can accommodate multiple PUCCH transmissionsin the same resource block.

Virtual Uplink Carrier

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the virtualcarrier terminals described above can also be provided with a reducedcapability transmitter for transmitting uplink data. The virtual carrierterminals are arranged to transmit data across a reduced bandwidth. Theprovision of a reduced capability transmitter unit providescorresponding advantages to those achieved by providing a reducedcapability receiver unit with, for example, classes of devices that aremanufactured with a reduced capability for use with, for example, MTCtype applications.

In correspondence with the downlink virtual carrier, the virtual carrierterminals transmit uplink data across a reduced range of sub-carrierswithin a host carrier that has a greater bandwidth than that of thereduced bandwidth virtual carrier. This is shown in FIG. 13A. As can beseen from FIG. 13A, a group of sub-carriers in an uplink sub-frame forma virtual carrier 1301 within a host carrier 1302. Accordingly, thereduced bandwidth across which the virtual carrier terminals transmituplink data can be considered a virtual uplink carrier.

In order to implement the virtual uplink carrier, the base stationscheduler serving a virtual carrier ensures that all uplink resourceelements granted to virtual carrier terminals are sub-carriers that fallwithin the reduced bandwidth range of the reduced capability transmitterunits of the virtual carrier terminals. Correspondingly, the basestation scheduler serving the host carrier typically ensures that alluplink resource elements granted to host carrier terminals aresub-carriers that fall outside the set of sub-carriers occupied by thevirtual carrier terminals. However, if the schedulers for the virtualcarrier and the host carrier are implemented jointly, or have means toshare information, then the scheduler of the host carrier can assignresource elements from within the virtual carrier region to terminaldevices on the host carrier during sub-frames when the virtual carrierscheduler indicates that some or all of the virtual carrier resourceswill not be used by terminal devices on the virtual carrier.

If a virtual carrier uplink incorporates a physical channel that followsa similar structure and method of operation to the LTE PUCCH, whereresources for that physical channel are expected to be at the channeledges, for virtual carrier terminals these resources could be providedat the edges of the virtual carrier bandwidth and not at the edges ofthe host carrier. This is advantageous since it would ensure thatvirtual carrier uplink transmissions remain within the reduced virtualcarrier bandwidth.

Virtual Uplink Carrier Random Access

In accordance with conventional LTE techniques, it cannot be guaranteedthat the PRACH will be within the sub-carriers allocated to the virtualcarrier. In some embodiments therefore, the base station provides asecondary PRACH within the virtual uplink carrier, the location of whichcan be signaled to the virtual carrier terminals via system informationon the virtual carrier. This is shown for example in FIG. 13B in which aPRACH 1303 is located within the virtual carrier 1301. Thus, the virtualcarrier terminals send PRACH requests on the virtual carrier PRACHwithin the virtual uplink carrier. The position of the PRACH can besignaled to the virtual carrier terminals in a virtual carrier downlinksignaling channel, for example in system information on the virtualcarrier.

However, in other examples, the virtual carrier PRACH 1303 is situatedoutside of the virtual carrier as shown for example in FIG. 13C. Thisleaves more room within the virtual uplink carrier for the transmissionof data by the virtual carrier terminals. The position of the virtualcarrier PRACH is signaled to the virtual carrier terminals as before butin order to transmit a random access request, the virtual carrierterminals re-tune their transmitter units to the virtual carrier PRACHfrequency because it is outside of the virtual carrier. The transmitterunits are then re-tuned to the virtual carrier frequency when uplinkresource elements have been allocated.

In some examples where the virtual carrier terminals are capable oftransmitting on a PRACH outside of the virtual carrier, the position ofthe host carrier PRACH can be signaled to the virtual carrier terminals.The virtual carrier terminals can then simply use the conventional hostcarrier PRACH resource to send random access requests. This approach isadvantageous as fewer PRACH resources have to be allocated.

However, if the base station is receiving random access requests fromboth conventional LTE terminals and virtual carrier terminals on thesame PRACH resource, it is necessary that the base station is providedwith a mechanism for distinguishing between random access requests fromconventional LTE terminals and random access requests from virtualcarrier terminals.

Therefore, in some examples a time division allocation is implemented atthe base station whereby, for example, over a first set of sub-framesthe PRACH allocation is available to the virtual carrier terminals andover a second set of sub-frames the PRACH allocation is available toconventional LTE terminals. Accordingly, the base station can determinethat random access requests received during the first set of sub-framesoriginate from virtual carrier terminals and random access requestsreceived during the second set of sub-frames originate from conventionalLTE terminals.

In other examples, no mechanism is provided to prevent both virtualcarrier terminals and conventional LTE terminals transmitting randomaccess requests at the same time. However, the random access preamblesthat are conventionally used to transmit a random access request aredivided into two groups. The first group is used exclusively by virtualcarrier terminals and the second group is used exclusively byconventional LTE terminals. Accordingly, the base station can determinewhether a random request originated from a conventional LTE terminal ora virtual carrier terminal simply by ascertaining to what group therandom access preamble belongs.

Example Architecture

FIG. 14 provides a schematic diagram showing part of an adapted LTEmobile telecommunication system arranged in accordance with an exampleof the present invention. The system includes an adapted enhanced Node B(eNB) 1401 connected to a core network 1408 which communicates data to aplurality of conventional LTE terminals 1402 and reduced capabilityterminals 1403 within a coverage area (cell) 1404. Each of the reducedcapability terminals 1403 has a transceiver unit 1405 which includes areceiver unit capable of receiving data across a reduced bandwidth and atransmitter unit capable of transmitting data across a reduced bandwidthwhen compared with the capabilities of the transceiver units 1406included in the conventional LTE terminals 1402.

The adapted eNB 1401 is arranged to transmit downlink data using asub-frame structure that includes a virtual carrier as described withreference to FIG. 5 and to receive uplink data using a sub-framestructure as described with reference to FIG. 13B or 13C. The reducedcapability terminals 1403 are thus able to receive and transmit datausing the uplink and downlink virtual carriers as described above.

As has been explained above, because the reduced complexity terminals1403 receive and transmit data across a reduced bandwidth on the uplinkand downlink virtual carriers, the complexity, power consumption andcost of the transceiver unit 1405 needed to receive and decode downlinkdata and to encode and transmit uplink data is reduced compared to thetransceiver unit 1406 provided in the conventional LTE terminals.

When receiving downlink data from the core network 1408 to betransmitted to one of the terminals within the cell 1404, the adaptedeNB 1401 is arranged to determine if the data is bound for aconventional LTE terminal 1402 or a reduced capability terminal 1403.This can be achieved using any suitable technique. For example, databound for a reduced capability terminal 1403 may include a virtualcarrier flag indicating that the data must be transmitted on thedownlink virtual carrier. If the adapted eNB 1401 detects that downlinkdata is to be transmitted to a reduced capability terminal 1403, anadapted scheduling unit 1409 included in the adapted eNB 1401 ensuresthat the downlink data is transmitted to the reduced capability terminalin question on the downlink virtual. In another example the network isarranged so that the virtual carrier is logically independent of theeNB. More particularly the virtual carrier may be arranged to appear tothe core network as a distinct cell so that it is not known to the corenetwork that the virtual carrier has any relationship with the hostcarrier. Packets are simply routed to/from the virtual carrier just asthey would be for a conventional cell.

In another example, packet inspection is performed at a suitable pointwithin the network to route traffic to or from the appropriate carrier(i.e. the host carrier or the virtual carrier).

In yet another example, data from the core network to the eNB iscommunicated on a specific logical connection for a specific terminaldevice. The eNB is provided with information indicating which logicalconnection is associated with which terminal device. Information is alsoprovided at the eNB indicating which terminal devices are virtualcarrier terminals and which are conventional LTE terminals. Thisinformation could be derived from the fact that a virtual carrierterminal would initially have connected using virtual carrier resources.In other examples virtual carrier terminals are arranged to indicatetheir capability to the eNB during the connection procedure. Accordinglythe eNB can map data from the core network to a specific terminal devicebased on whether the terminal device is a virtual carrier terminal or anLTE terminal.

When scheduling resources for the transmission of uplink data, theadapted eNB 1401 is arranged to determine if the terminal to bescheduled resources is a reduced capability terminal 1403 or aconventional LTE terminal 1402. In some examples this is achieved byanalysing the random access request transmitted on the PRACH using thetechniques to distinguish between a virtual carrier random accessrequest and a conventional random access request as described above. Inany case, when it has been determined at the adapted eNB 1401 that arandom access request has been made by a reduced capability terminal1402, the adapted scheduler 1409 is arranged to ensure that any grantsof uplink resource elements are within the virtual uplink carrier.

In some examples, the virtual carrier inserted within the host carriercan be used to provide a logically distinct “network within a network”.In other words data being transmitted via the virtual carrier can betreated as logically and physically distinct from the data transmittedby the host carrier network. The virtual carrier can therefore be usedto implement a so-called dedicated messaging network (DMN) which is“laid over” a conventional network and used to communicate messagingdata to DMN devices (i.e. virtual carrier terminals).

Further Example Applications of Virtual Carriers

Having set out the concepts of virtual carriers of the kind described inco-pending UK patent applications numbered GB 1101970.0 [2], GB1101981.7 [3], GB 1101966.8 [4], GB 1101983.3 [5], GB 1101853.8 [6], GB1101982.5 [7], GB 1101980.9 [8] and GB 1101972.6 [9], some extensions ofthe virtual carrier concept in accordance with embodiments of theinvention are now described. In particular, some implementations ofvirtual carrier concepts in the context of multicast transmissions aredescribed.

Before describing some example applications of the virtual carrierconcept in the context of multicast transmissions, some generalcharacteristics of frame structures for uplink and downlinktransmissions in an example telecommunications system implementing avirtual carrier in accordance with embodiments of the invention aresummarised.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram representing how various regions in aLTE-type telecommunications network's time-frequency up link resourcegrid 1550 and downlink resource grid 1500 might be allocated to supporta virtual carrier such as described above. The upper grid 1550 in FIG.15 schematically represents the uplink resource allocation and the lowergrid 1500 schematically represents the downlink resource allocation.

The extent of the example downlink resource grid 1500 shown in FIG. 15comprises ten sub-frames 1512 (equivalent to one frame overall) spacedalong the horizontal time direction and spans a bandwidth 8320 infrequency, for example 20 MHz. As described above, the downlinktransmission resource grid 1500 of FIG. 15 comprises host carrier PDCCHregions 1502, host carrier PDSCH regions 1506 and virtual carrierregions 1510. The virtual carrier regions 1510 in this example compriseseparate virtual carrier PDCCH regions 1514 and virtual carrier PDSCHregions 1516. However, and as noted above, in other exampleimplementations the principles of the virtual carrier operation mightnot mirror these aspects of LTE-type networks. The downlink framestructure 1500 may include other regions, such as reference symbolregions, but these are not shown in FIG. 15 for simplicity. Eachsub-frame 1512 of the downlink resource grid 1500 shown in FIG. 15broadly follows the same general format as the sub-frame shown in FIG.5, except in this particular example the virtual carrier control region(VC-PDCCH) 1512 is positioned at the beginning of each sub-frame 1512,rather than at the end as schematically shown in FIG. 5.

The extent of the uplink resource grid 1550 shown in FIG. 15 alsocomprises ten sub-frames 1562 (equivalent to one frame overall) spacedalong the horizontal time direction and spanning the same bandwidth R₃₂₀in frequency. The uplink transmission resource grid 1550 of FIG. 15comprises host carrier PUCCH regions 1552 (HC control regions), hostcarrier PUSCH regions 1556, and virtual carrier regions 1560. Therespective virtual carrier regions 1560 comprise virtual carrier PUCCHregions 1564 (VC control regions) and virtual carrier PUSCH regions1566. The uplink frame structure 1550 can include other regions, butthese are again not shown in FIG. 15 for simplicity. Each sub-frame 1552of the uplink resource grid 1550 shown in FIG. 15 may broadly follow thesame general format as the sub-frames shown in FIGS. 13A to 13C, forexample.

Having summarised some aspects of uplink and downlink transmissionresource grids in telecommunications systems implementing a virtualcarrier in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, someapplications of multicast techniques in such a system are now described.

Multicasting is an established technique used in varioustelecommunication systems, such as those operating in accordance withthe general principles of the 3GPP LTE standards. Multicasting may begenerally characterised as the simultaneous transmission of data tomultiple terminal devices which are members of a group defined forreceiving the multicast data. Multicast services may be contrasted withbroadcast services and unicast services. For example, broadcast servicesmay be generally characterised by the transmission of data which can bereceived by multiple terminal devices without the devices needing to bepart of any particular defined sub-group of terminal devices. Unicastservices, on the other hand, may be generally characterised by thetransmission of data intended for an individual terminal device with thedata being specifically addressed to that terminal device.

The inventors have recognized that multicasting may be a particularlyuseful mode for communicating data to machine-type communicationterminal devices of the kind discussed above and which might frequently,though not exclusively, be associated with virtual carriers. This isbecause in many situations it is expected there will be large numbers ofmachine-type communication terminals to which the same data is to betransmitted. For example, a utilities provider may wish to communicatenew pricing information or a software update to all smart meters withina given communication cell, or a vending machine operator may wish tocommunicate new pricing information to vending machines configured asMTC devices (i.e. having the ability to wirelessly communicate data withan MTC server using a wireless telecommunication system). Correspondingsituations requiring the transmission of the same data to multipleterminal devices may arise in other circumstances, for example, withso-called smart grids and remote health care implementations ofmachine-type communication networks/devices. Thus it is expected therewill be many circumstances in which a virtual carrier of the kinddiscussed above may be employed to support multicast transmissions.

One example situation is schematically shown in FIG. 16 which representsan architecture for a generally LTE-based telecommunications system 1600implementing a multicast service in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. The system 1600 comprises an eNodeB (base station) 1610arranged to communicate with a plurality of terminal devices 1612 over avirtual carrier of the kind described above. Although only one basestation 1610 is shown in FIG. 16 for simplicity, it will be appreciatedthat in general there will be multiple base stations to provide coveragefor terminal devices over a range of different geographic locations(i.e. in different cells of the network).

The terminal devices 1612 are communicatively coupled to associated“machines” 1614, which in the example shown in FIG. 16 are vendingmachines 1614. Thus the terminal devices 1612 provide a means for thevending machines to communicate, via the base station 1610, with aremote MTC server (not shown) through the telecommunications network1600. As is conventional, the base station 1610 may comprise atransceiver unit 1610 a for transmission and reception of wirelesssignals and a controller unit 1610 b configured to control the basestation 1610 to operate as desired according to the principles describedherein. As is also conventional, the terminal devices 1612 may eachcomprise a transceiver unit 1612 a for transmission and reception ofwireless signals and a controller unit 1612 b configured to control therespective terminal devices 1612 to operate as desired according to theprinciples described herein. For example, the respective controllerunits 1610 b, 1612 b may comprise respective processor units which aresuitably configured/programmed to provide the desired functionalityusing conventional programming/configuration techniques for equipment inwireless telecommunications systems.

The terminal devices 1612 are schematically represented in FIG. 16 asreceiving a multicast communication from the base station 1610indicating an increase in price should be applied for the associatedvending machines. That is to say the terminal devices 1612 (perhapsalong with other terminal devices in other cells served by other basestations) form a multicast group and the “price up” communicationschematically represented in FIG. 16 may be addressed to this multicastgroup in accordance with the established general principles ofmulticasting, e.g. based on multicast group ID addressing. The “priceup” communication may be instigated by a remote MTC server responsiblefor managing the operation of the network of vending machines 1614 androuted to the base station 1610 for multicast transmission to theterminal devices 1612 in accordance with generally conventionaltechniques. Furthermore, the terminal devices 1612 receiving the“price-up” multicast communication may be configured to extract therelevant information from the multicast communication and pass theinformation to their associated vending machine 1614, which may reactaccordingly, again using generally conventional techniques.

A potential advantage of using a multicast approach to communicate theprice-up message to the terminal devices 1612 shown in FIG. 16, ascompared to a unicast approach to each individual terminal device, isreduced signalling overhead. This can be the case both in terms ofcontrol-plane signalling (e.g. on the virtual carrier PDCCH 1514 shownin FIG. 15) and in terms of user-plane signalling (e.g. on the virtualcarrier PDSCH shown in FIG. 15). With a large number of terminal devicesin a cell, the amount of control and user-plane signalling to transferMTC messages in a unicast manner to each individual terminal devicecould easily come to dominate the total available resources, making thesystem inefficient, and perhaps even unfeasible. Control-planesignalling may in particular become overloaded because the actualuser-plane data to be communicated, e.g. a simple indication of a priceincrease, might in itself be relatively small.

Using multicast techniques to communicate data to multiple terminaldevices can thus help reduce the amount of control signalling overhead.However, a drawback of current techniques for multicast transmissions,for example as defined in the relevant existing LTE standards, is a lackof a mechanism for terminal devices to acknowledge receipt of thetransmission. This is because multicast services are unidirectionalservices. The present inventors have recognized this aspect of existingmulticast schemes can have a detrimental impact in many situations, andin particular for some MTC applications, such as the vending machineexample of FIG. 16. For example, it might be problematic if not all thevending machines 1614 successfully receive new pricing informationbecause some of the machines will be charging the wrong price(s). Usingcurrent multicast techniques, an MTC server responsible for managing thenetwork of vending machines 1614 would not be able to determine whetheror not the respective vending machines have successfully received anygiven multicast transmission. Because of this the MTC server cannot knowif corrective action (e.g. re-transmission of data) is required.

Telecommunications systems generally provide a mechanism for terminaldevices to acknowledge correct receipt of unicastcommunications/packets, e.g. based on ACK/NACK signalling according to adefined ARQ (automatic repeat request)/HARQ (hybrid automatic repeatrequest) procedure. LTE, for example, employs a HARQ procedure asdescribed in ETSI TS 136 213 V10.2.0 (2011-June)/3GPP TS 36.213 version10.2.0 Release 10) [10] and ETSI TS 136 321 V10.2.0 (2011-June)/3GPP TS36.321 version 10.2.0 Release 10) [11].

FIG. 17A schematically represents how the uplink and downlinktransmissions resources represented in FIG. 15 might be used to providefor a HARQ procedure for a virtual carrier in a unicast context. Thevarious elements of FIG. 17A will be understood from the abovedescription of the corresponding elements in FIG. 15. In general, theHARQ procedure may operate in the same general way as for a conventional(i.e. non-virtual) carrier. That is to say it may operate by followingthe principles of conventional HARQ techniques in the telecommunicationssystem in which the virtual carrier is implemented. In this example itis assumed the telecommunications system is a generally LTE compliantsystem. Thus downlink data received by a terminal device on the virtualcarrier's PDSCH 1516 in sub-frame i are acknowledged/negativeacknowledged by an uplink ACK/NACK signal sent on the virtual carrier'sPUCCH 1564 in sub-frame i+4. This is schematically shown in FIG. 17A bythree uplink ACK/NACK signal responses 1710, 1720, 1730 associated withrespective downlink data transmissions 1712, 1722, 1732 from foursub-frames earlier. As with conventional LTE ACK/NACK procedures,ACK/NACK signalling may also be sent on PUSCH, for example, when aterminal device is allocated uplink resources for user-plane data onPUSCH in the same sub-frame as the ACK/NACK response.

FIG. 17B schematically represents how uplink PUCCH resources 1564 mightbe allocated for a virtual carrier operating in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The region of the uplink transmissionresource grid shown in FIG. 17B corresponds to a single sub-frame of theuplink transmission resource grid 1550 shown in FIG. 15 for a bandwidthcorresponding to the extent of the virtual carrier. It is assumed forthis example that the virtual carrier PUCCH resource allocation broadlyfollows the same principles as for a conventional LTE carrier. Thusresources are allocated in pairs towards the upper and lower frequencyboundaries/edges for the virtual carrier. In the example shown in FIG.17B the resources associated with respective pairings are indicated bythe same letter A, B, C, D, E or F. In the example shown in FIG. 17Bthere are enough PUCCH resources for 36 transmissions per sub-frame. Theinventors have recognized that these different resources can be used bydifferent terminal devices to send an ACK/NACK in response to amulticast transmission.

Thus some embodiments of the invention provide a method forcommunicating data in a wireless telecommunications system whichcomprises transmitting a multicast transmission from a base station to aplurality of terminal devices and receiving response signals fromrespective ones of the terminal devices to indicate whether or not therespective terminal devices have successfully received the multicasttransmission. Furthermore, this may be done using a virtual carrier ofthe kind described above within the operating bandwidth of a hostcarrier.

This provides a mechanism for a MTC server, for example, to instigatethe transmission of multicast data to a plurality of associated MTCdevices, and to receive feedback via the base station regarding theextent to which the transmission has been received by the intendedrecipients. For example, the base station may forward informationregarding individual response signals to the MTC server, or may simplysend a message to the MTC server to indicate whether or not all theintended recipient terminals received the multicast transmission. TheMTC server may then decide on the appropriate course of action. Forexample, if the MTC server is informed by the base station that there isat least one MTC device which did not successfully receive the multicasttransmission, the MTC server may decide to instigate a re-transmissionimmediately, or at a later stage, or determine that the transmission wasnon-critical and take no action.

In other examples the MTC server might not play a role in the feedbackmechanism provided by the response signals and this might be managedsolely by the telecommunications network, for example, within therespective base station(s). That is to say, the base station(s) may beconfigured to receive the response signals, determine which (if any)intended recipient devices within their area have not acknowledgedsuccessful reception of the multicast transmission (for example, becausethey have not responded or responded with a negative acknowledgement),and take action to re-transmit the data as appropriate. The basestation(s) may determine different re-transmission strategies dependingon the number of terminal devices they are serving which do not indicatesuccessful reception. For example, if there are many failed receptionswithin a base station's cell, re-transmission by way of anothermulticast may be considered appropriate. However. if there are only oneor a few failed receptions, a unicast transmission scheme for eachindividual terminal devices not reporting successful reception may beconsidered more appropriate.

FIG. 18A schematically represents how the uplink and downlinktransmissions resources represented in FIG. 15 might be used to providefor a HARQ procedure for a virtual carrier in a multicast context inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. The various elements ofFIG. 18A will be understood from the above description of thecorresponding elements in FIG. 15. Thus FIG. 18A schematically showsthree multicast transmissions 1812, 1822, 1832 occurring on PDSCH indifferent sub-frames of the downlink radio frame represented in thefigure. These multicast transmissions may be based on conventionaltechniques and identify the intended recipients by virtue of a multicastgroup ID in the normal way. The three different transmissions shown inFIG. 18A may be unrelated from one another (e.g. independenttransmissions intended for different multicast groups), or may berelated, e.g. s series of transmissions for the same multicast group.The specific nature of the information being transmitted is notsignificant to the underlying operating principles.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, terminal devices whichare members of a multicast group to which a transmission is made areconfigured to send an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgment (ACK/NACK)in response to the multicast transmission. The configuration of thesemulticast ACK/NACK response signals may follow the same generalprinciples, e.g. in terms of signalling format and content, as forconventional ACK/NACK signalling associated with conventional unicasttransmission schemes. Furthermore, and as with FIG. 17A, the multicastACK/NACK responses sent in response to a multicast transmission in avirtual carrier context may be sent on a PUCCH 1564 associated with thevirtual carrier. In accordance with existing LTE standards for ACK/NACKsignalling in a unicast context, an ACK/NACK response signal is sent bya terminal device (user equipment—UE) in a sub-frame which is foursub-frames later than the sub-frame in which the corresponding downlinktransmission is scheduled on PDSCH. Scheduling information (resourceallocation) for downlink transmissions is carried on PDCCH, and forconventional unicast ACK/NACK signalling, the particular uplinktransmission resource on PUCCH which is used for the ACK/NACK signallingis based on the PDCCH resources used to allocate the downlinktransmission.

However, in a multicast context, different uplink transmission resources(e.g. in terms of times and/or frequencies and/or codes) may be used forACK/NACK signalling from different terminal devices to allow theresponse signals to be distinguished at the base station. For example,based on the uplink sub-frame structure shown in FIG. 17B and the use ofvirtual carrier PUCCH for ACK/NACK signalling, 36 different terminaldevices might be configured to use different ones of the 36 availablePUCCH resources in a sub-frame which is four sub-frames later than thesub-frame in which the multicast data is transmitted. This is theapproach schematically represented in FIG. 18A by the three PUCCHregions 1810, 1820, 1830 each containing (up to) 36 ACK/NACK signals insub-frames which are four later than the respective correspondingmulticast transmissions 1812, 1822, 1832. The different terminal devicesmay be allocated the specific resources to use for their respectiveACK/NACK signalling during an initial set-up procedure. For example, thedifferent terminal devices might be provided with information regardingthe specific PUCCH resource to use within each sub-frame when beingallocated a C-RNTI. In other examples, additional signalling associatedwith a multicast transmission may be used by the base station toallocate specific PUCCH resource for ACK/NACK response signals to eachterminal device. Thus there are a number of ways in which the respectivebase station(s) can manage the different uplink resources to be used forACK/NACK signalling by different terminal devices within the differentmulticast groups to allow received ACK/NACK responses to be mapped tocorresponding terminal devices.

For a conventional ACK/NACK procedure in a unicast context the specificPUCCH resource to be used for the ACK/NACK response within the relevantsub-frame (e.g. four sub-frames later than the downlink transmission)can be derived by the terminal device in different ways. For example,with dynamic downlink scheduling the specific PUCHH resource to use whensending an ACK/NACK response is implicitly signalled by the allocationmessage on PDCCH for the PDSCH data transmission that is to beACKed/NACKed. Alternatively, with semi-persistent scheduling there willnot necessarily be corresponding PDCCH allocation data for the downlinktransmissions, and in this case the specific PUCCH resource to usewithin the relevant sub-frame (e.g. four sub-frames later than thedownlink) may be predefined as a part of the procedure for setting upthe downlink transmission.

In a multicast context there are also a number of different ways inwhich the specific PUCCH resource to use by the respective terminaldevices can be established.

For example, the eNodeB may provide an indication through additionalsignalling on PDCCH or PDSCH in association with the multicast downlinktransmission from which the respective terminal devices can derive theirown PUCHH resource. For example, the eNodeB may transmit informationlinking specific identifiers for the different terminal devices that aremembers of the multicast group within the sNodeB's footprint (e.g.radio-network temporary identifiers—RNTIs) with specific PUCCH uplinkresources (or indeed any other uplink resources) to be used for ACK/NACKsignalling by the corresponding terminal device. The various terminaldevices can thus receive this information, identify their specificidentifier from among the other members of the multicast group, anddetermine the appropriate uplink resource accordingly. The uplinkresource indication may, for example, specify a particular resourcewithin a sub-frame and a particular sub-frame to use, or may simplyspecify a particular resource within to be used in a default sub-frame,for example, a sub-frame that is four sub-frames later than a sub-framein which the corresponding multicast transmission is made.

In other examples, the specific resource to be used by a given terminaldevice for ACK/NACK signalling may be established during a set upprocedure. For example, when a terminal device that is a member of amulticast group for which ACK/NACK signalling is to be used inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention first connects to theeNodeB, or when a multicast transmission first begins.

FIG. 18B is a signalling ladder diagram showing how a base station(eNodeB) 1850 may communicate ACK/NACK signalling resource information(i.e. information on which uplink resource to use for ACK/NACKsignalling) to different terminal devices (UEs), such as UE X(identified by reference number 1860) and UE Y (identified by referencenumber 1870), which are both subscribers to the same multicast service“A”.

In the example of FIG. 18B, the ACK/NACK signalling resource informationis defined during an initial set up stage when terminal devices connectto the network. Thus, UE X, upon waking up, for example, sends a randomaccess preamble to the eNodeB, in order to be recognized by the eNodeB.After a Random Access handshake procedure, RRC signalling is exchanged,and the terminal device 1860 (UE X) is allocated a C-RNTI (Cell RadioNetwork Temporary Identity) by the eNodeB. The C-RNTI is an addresswhich is used to identify the UE in communications with the eNodeB. Inthe example of FIG. 18B it is assumed UE X is allocated a C-RNTI of “X”.In this sequence, along with the UE-specific C-RNTI assignment, a GroupC-RNTI associated with the multicast group is also communicated to theUE. In the example of FIG. 18B it is assumed the relevant multicastservice is associated with a Group C-RNTI of “A”. This process ofallocating C-RNTIs may be generally performed in accordance with knowntechniques. However, in addition to allocating the two types of C-RNTI,the eNodeB also allocates UE X an ACK/NACK signalling resource to beused by the UE when determining the specific uplink resource forACK/NACK signalling in response to multicast transmissions addressed tothe multicast Group C-RNTI of “A”. In the example of FIG. 18B it isassumed UE X is allocated an ACK/NACK signalling resource information“M”, where “M” corresponds to (i.e. identifies) a specific PUCCHresource within sub-frames of the virtual carrier in which the scheme isimplemented.

The set-up signalling associated with allocating UE X with C-RNTI “X”,Group C-RNTI “A”, and ACK/NACK signalling resource information “M”, isschematically represented in FIG. 18B by reference numeral 1880.

Similar set-up signalling (schematically represented in FIG. 18B byreference numeral 1882) is provided for the terminal device 1870 (UE Y).Thus, UE Y, upon waking up, for example, sends a random access preambleto the eNodeB, in order to be recognized by the eNodeB. After a RandomAccess handshake procedure, RRC signalling is exchanged, and theterminal device 1870 (UE Y) is allocated a C-RNTI by the eNodeB. TheC-RNTI is an address which is used to identify the UE Y in communicationwith the eNodeB. In the example of FIG. 18B it is assumed UE Y isallocated a C-RNTI of “Y”. In this sequence, along with the UE-specificC-RNTI assignment, a Group C-RNTI associated with the multicast group isalso communicated to the UE. In the example of FIG. 18B the relevantmulticast service is associated with a Group C-RNTI of “A”. As for UE X,in addition to allocating the two types of C-RNTI for UE Y, the eNodeBalso allocates UE Y an ACK/NACK signalling resource to be used by UE Ywhen determining the specific uplink resource for ACK/NACK signalling inresponse to multicast transmissions addressed to the multicast GroupC-RNTI of “A”. In the example of FIG. 18B it is assumed UE Y isallocated an ACK/NACK signalling resource information “N”, where “N”identifies a specific PUCCH resource within sub-frames of the virtualcarrier which is different from that indicated by ACK/NACK signallingresource information “M” for UE X.

Subsequently a downlink multicast transmission 1884 addressed to amulticast group ID corresponding to Group C-RNTI=“A” is made. This maybe instigated by a remote MTC server associated with the terminaldevices UE X and UE Y and promulgated through the network to the eNodeB1850 for transmission in the normal way.

The terminal devices UE X and UE Y are aware the multicast transmissionis intended for them based on the Group C-RNTI=“A” in the normal way.Thus each terminal device seeks to receive and process the transmission,and in accordance with the above-described principles of embodiments ofthe invention, the terminal devices addressed by the multicasttransmission are configured to send an uplink ACK/NACK signal inresponse. As schematically represented in FIG. 18A, it is assumed inthis example the terminal devices are configured to respond withappropriate ACK/NACK signalling in a sub-frame which is four sub-frameslater than that containing the multicast transmission 1884 (i.e.following the same general timing as for unicast ACK/NACK signalling).Furthermore, the different UEs 1860, 1870 are configured to usedifferent PUCCH resources for their respective ACK/NACK signallingaccording to the respective ACK/NACK signalling resource indicationsthey received during set up. Thus in this example, UE X 1860 sends anACK/NACK response in the relevant sub-frame on a PUCCH resourceidentified by ACK/NACK signalling resource indication “M” (schematicallyindicted in FIG. 18B by signalling 1886), and UE Y 1870 sends anACK/NACK response in the relevant sub-frame on a PUCCH resourceidentified by ACK/NACK signalling resource indication “N” (schematicallyindicted in FIG. 18B by signalling 1888). The specific format for theACK/NACK response signals 1886, 1888 is not significant and can bearranged in accordance with any desired scheme, for example it maysimply follow the same general principles as for established ACK/NACKresponse signalling associated with unicast transmissions.

Thus FIG. 18B shows one example scheme by which an eNodeB 1600, 1850 canallocate different PUCCH resources to different terminal devicessubscribing to a given multicast service to manage the different uplinkresources used by the different terminal devices for ACK/NACK responsesignalling. Alternate schemes may be used in other examples. Forexample, in some cases ACK/NACK signalling resource indications may notbe explicitly communicated to different terminal device during a set-upprocedure, but may be communicated implicitly instead, for examplewithin the specific C-RNTI allocated by the eNodeB. For example, aneNodeB might in effect reserve a series of C-RNTI values to be allocatedto terminal devices within a given multicast group whereby acharacteristic of the C-RNTI may be used to indicate which uplinkresource should be used by the respective terminal devices. For example,an eNodeB may allocate C-RNTI values from a series for which some of thedigits, for example the last few bits, correspond to a different numberfor each terminal device, and based on which each terminal devicederives an appropriate uplink PUCCH resource for ACK/NACK signalling. Inprinciple, different terminal devices within a given multicast groupcould each be configured to use particular uplink resources withoutnetwork signalling, for example, the information could be in effect behardwired in the terminal device, for example during manufacture ordeployment. This approach is perhaps less flexible, but may nonethelessbe appropriate in some cases, for example, where it is know there willbe little or changes to the multicast group members for an extendedtime.

In some cases there may be fewer than 36 PUCCH resources available in agiven sub-frame (e.g. because of poor channel conditions), and even ifthere are 36 PUCCH resources available for ACK/NACK signalling, theremight be more than 36 terminal devices receiving the multicasttransmission. In cases such as this where there may be more ACK/NACKresponse signals than available PUCCH resources per sub-frame, thesystem may be configured to use additional resources, for example, PUCCHresources in additional sub-frames, PUCCH resources on additionalvirtual carriers, or other resources elsewhere in the uplink frequencyresource grid (for example, on a virtual carrier's PUSCH).

In this regard the terminal devices of a multicast group might benotionally separated into sub-groups with each sub-group containing anumber of terminal devices for which ACK/NACK signalling can beaccommodated on PUCCH in a single sub-frame. For example, assuming thereare 36 PUCCH resources available in each sub-frame, and there are, say,60 terminal devices in a given multicast group, 36 of the devices mightbe allocated to a first sub-group (Sub-group I) while the remaining 24terminal device might be allocated to a second sub-group (Sub-group II).Of course if the there are still more terminal devices in a multicastgroup, there may be more notional sub-groups defined. The resources tobe used by the different terminal devices for ACK/NACK responsesignalling may then be configured differently for the differentsub-groups. For example, the different sub-groups may be configured torespond in different sub-frames or on different virtual carriers.

FIG. 19 schematically represents how uplink and downlink transmissionresources might be used to provide for a HARQ procedure for a virtualcarrier in a multicast context in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention when there are more recipient terminal devices than there areavailable PUCCH resources for ACK/NACK responses in each sub-frame of avirtual carrier. Various elements of FIG. 19 will be understood from thedescription of corresponding elements in FIGS. 15 and 18. In the exampleshown here it is assumed PUCCH is able to support 36 ACK/NACK responsesignals from separate terminal devices in each sub-frame, but there aresomewhere between 37 and 72 terminal devices receiving the multicasttransmission. Thus the terminal devices are notionally divided in to twosub-groups such as described above. The sub-groups may be referred tohere as Sub-group I and Sub-group II, and in this example it is assumedthe terminal devices are aware of which sub-group they are in. There arevarious ways of communicating the relevant sub-group information(information indicative of the relevant notional sub-group) to thedifferent terminal devices, as described further below.

In accordance with the scheme shown in FIG. 19 terminal devices indifferent sub-groups are operable to send ACK/NACK response signals indifferent sub-frames. This allows the base station to receive moreresponses than can be accommodated within a single sub-frame. Thus inthis particular example, in response to a multicast transmission 1912,Sub-group I terminal devices are configured to send their ACK/NACKsignals four sub-frames later using PUCCH resources 1910 and Sub-groupII terminal devices are configured to send their ACK/NACK signals fivesub-frames later using PUCCH resources 1920. Thus a base station is ableto in effect group terminal devices which are members of a givenmulticast group into sub-groups for the purpose of assigning uplinkresources to be used by the terminal devices for ACK/NACK signalling.

FIG. 20 schematically represents how uplink and downlink transmissionresources might be used to provide for a HARQ procedure for a virtualcarrier in a multicast context in accordance with another embodiment ofthe invention when there are more recipient terminal devices than thereare available PUCCH resources for ACK/NACK responses in each sub-frameof a virtual carrier. Various elements of FIG. 20 will be understoodfrom the description of corresponding elements in FIGS. 15 and 18.However, whereas in FIGS. 15 and 18 a single virtual carrier is providedwithin a host carrier bandwidth, in the example of FIG. 20 there are twoseparate virtual carriers (VC1 & VC2) defined for the purposes ofresource allocation. The two virtual carriers may be configured in thesame way as one another, and each one may in turn be defined in the samewas as any of the single virtual carrier examples described above, withthe only difference being the different operating frequencies allocatedto each virtual carrier (i.e. the specific OFDM sub-carriers).

In the example shown here it is assumed that each PUCCH (1564, 1564′) isable to support 36 ACK/NACK response signals from separate terminaldevices in each sub-frame, but there are again somewhere between 37 and72 terminal devices receiving a multicast transmission on the firstvirtual carrier VC1. As before, the terminal devices are notionallydivided in to two sub-groups, which may again be referred to here asSub-group I and Sub-group II.

In accordance with the scheme shown in FIG. 20 terminal devices indifferent sub-groups are operable to send ACK/NACK response signals inthe same sub-frames, but using different virtual carriers. This allowsthe base station to receive more responses than can be accommodatedwithin a single sub-frame of a single virtual carrier. Thus in thisparticular example, in response to a multicast transmission 2012,Sub-group I terminal devices are configured to send their ACK/NACKsignals four sub-frames later using PUCCH resources 2010 on virtualcarrier VC1 while Sub-group II terminal devices are configured to sendtheir ACK/NACK signals in the corresponding sub-frame using PUCCHresources 2020 on virtual carrier VC2. This provides another mechanismwhereby a base station is able to group terminal devices which aremembers of a multicast group into sub-groups for the purpose ofassigning different uplink resources to be used by the terminal devicesfor ACK/NACK signalling.

FIG. 21 is a signalling ladder diagram showing how a base station(eNodeB) 2100 might communicate sub-grouping information to differentterminal devices (UEs), such as UE X (identified by reference number2110) and UE Y (identified by reference number 2120) which are bothsubscribers to the same multicast service “A”.

In the example of FIG. 21, the sub-groups are defined during an initialset up stage when terminal devices connect to the network. Thus, UE X,upon waking up, for example, sends a random access preamble to theeNodeB, in order to be recognized by the eNodeB. After a Random Accesshandshake procedure, RRC signalling is exchanged, and the terminaldevice 2110 (UE X) is allocated a C-RNTI (Cell Radio Network TemporaryIdentity) by the eNodeB. The C-RNT1 is an address which is used toidentify the UE in communication with the eNodeB. In the example of FIG.21 it is assumed UE X is allocated a C-RNTI of “X”. In this sequence,along with the UE-specific C-RNTI assignment, a Group C-RNTI associatedwith the multicast group is also communicated to the UE. In the exampleof FIG. 21 it is assumed the relevant multicast service is associatedwith a Group C-RNTI of “A”. This process of allocating C-RNTIs may begenerally performed in accordance with known techniques. However, inaddition to allocating the two types of C-RNTI, the eNodeB alsoallocates UE X a multicast subgroup ID to be used by the UE whendetermining the resources for ACK/NACK signalling in response tomulticast transmissions addressed to the multicast Group C-RNTI of “A”.In the example of FIG. 21 it is assumed UE X is allocated to multicastsubgroup ID “I”.

It will be appreciated in some examples UE X may also be provided withan indication at this stage as to which PUCCH resource in a givensub-frame the UE should use for ACK/NACK signalling, such as shown inFIG. 18B. However, this is not represented in FIG. 21 (or in FIG. 22below) for simplicity.

The set-up signalling associated with allocating UE X with C-RNTI “X”,Group C-RNTI “A”, and subgroup ID “I”, is schematically represented inFIG. 21 by reference numeral 2130.

Similar set-up signalling (schematically represented in FIG. 21 byreference numeral 2140) is provided for the terminal device 2120 (UE Y).Thus, UE Y, upon waking up, for example, sends a random access preambleto the eNodeB, in order to be recognized by the eNodeB. After a RandomAccess handshake procedure, RRC signalling is exchanged, and theterminal device 2120 (UE Y) is allocated a C-RNTI by the eNodeB. TheC-RNTI is an address which is used to identify the UE Y in communicationwith the eNodeB. In the example of FIG. 21 it is assumed UE Y isallocated a C-RNTI of “Y”. In this sequence, along with the UE-specificC-RNTI assignment, a Group C-RNTI associated with the multicast group isalso communicated to the UE. In the example of FIG. 21 the relevantmulticast service is associated with a Group C-RNTI of “A”. In additionto allocating the two types of C-RNTI, the eNodeB also allocates UE Y amulticast subgroup ID to be used by the UE when determining theresources for ACK/NACK signalling in response to multicast transmissionsaddressed to the multicast Group C-RNTI of “A”. In the example of FIG.21 it is assumed UE Y is allocated to multicast subgroup ID “II”.

Subsequently a downlink multicast transmission 2150 addressed to amulticast group ID corresponding to Group C-RNTI=“A” is made. This maybe instigated by a remote MTC server associated with the terminaldevices UE X and UE Y and promulgated through the network to the eNodeB2100 for transmission in the normal way.

The terminal devices UE X and UE Y are aware the multicast transmissionis intended for them based on the Group C-RNTI=“A” in the normal way.Thus each terminal device seeks to receive and process the transmission,and in accordance with the above-described principles of embodiments ofthe invention, the terminal devices addressed by the multicasttransmission are configured to send an uplink ACK/NACK signal inresponse. In this example, it is assumed the terminal devices areconfigured such that if they are associated with a multicast subgroup ID“I”, they send their ACK/NACK response after a first time has elapsed(schematically indicted in FIG. 21 by signalling 2160), and if they areassociated with a multicast subgroup ID “II”, they send their ACK/NACKresponse after a second time, which is different from the first time,has elapsed (schematically indicted in FIG. 21 by signalling 2170). Forexample, the HARQ timing for terminal devices which have been allocatedby the eNodeB to multicast subgroup ID “I” might be such that theterminal device UE X responds with ACK/NACK signalling in a sub-framewhich is four sub-frames later than the downlink multicast transmission(e.g. such as identified by reference numeral 1910 in FIG. 19). The HARQtiming for terminal devices which have been allocated by the eNodeB tomulticast subgroup ID “II” might then be such that the terminal deviceUE Y responds with ACK/NACK signalling in a sub-frame which is fivesub-frames later than the downlink multicast transmission (e.g. such asidentified by reference numeral 1920 in FIG. 19).

As explained above with reference to FIG. 20, in some implementationsdifferent sub-groups might be associated with ACK/NACK responsesignalling on different carriers instead of (or in addition to) ACK/NACKsignalling in different sub-frames as in FIG. 19. For example, the HARQresponse for terminal devices which have been allocated by the eNodeB tomulticast subgroup ID “I” might be such that the terminal deviceresponds with ACK/NACK signalling on a first virtual carrier in asub-frame which is four sub-frames later than the downlink multicasttransmission (e.g. such as identified by reference numeral 2010 in FIG.20). Terminal devices which have been allocated by the eNodeB tomulticast subgroup ID “II” might then be configured such that theterminal device responds with ACK/NACK signalling on a second virtualcarrier in a sub-frame which is four sub-frames later than the downlinkmulticast transmission (e.g. such as identified by reference numeral2020 in FIG. 20).

Thus FIG. 21 shows one example scheme by which an eNodeB 1600 canallocate different terminal devices subscribing to a given multicastservice to different sub-groups to manage the uplink resources used bydifferent terminal devices for ACK/NACK response signalling.

FIG. 22 is a signalling ladder diagram showing how a base station(eNodeB) 2200 might communicate sub-grouping information to differentterminal devices (UEs), such as UE X (identified by reference number2210) and UE Y (identified by reference number 2220) which are bothsubscribers to the same multicast service “A” according to anotherembodiment of the invention. This differs from the scheme of FIG. 21 inthat sub-group information is not communicated to terminal devicesduring set up.

Thus, UE X 2210, upon waking up, for example, obtains a C-RNTI andmulticast Group C-RNTI from the eNodeB 2200 in the same general manneras in FIG. 21 and in accordance with established techniques. As withFIG. 21, in the example of FIG. 22 it is assumed UE X is allocated aC-RNTI of “X” and is provided with a multicast Group C-RNTI of “A”. Theset-up signalling associated with allocating UE X with C-RNTI “X” andGroup C-RNTI “A” is schematically represented in FIG. 22 by referencenumeral 2230.

Similar set-up signalling (schematically represented in FIG. 22 byreference numeral 2240) is provided for the terminal device 2220 (UE Y).Thus, UE Y, upon waking up, obtains a C-RNTI “Y” and a multicast GroupC-RNTI “A” from the eNodeB 2200.

Subsequently a downlink multicast transmission 2250 addressed to amulticast group ID corresponding to Group C-RNTI=“A” is made. This maybe instigated by a remote MTC server associated with the terminaldevices UE X and UE Y and promulgated through the network to the eNodeB2100 for transmission in the normal way. In accordance with this exampleembodiment the present invention the eNodeB 2200 is configured todetermine how many sub-groups are needed to ensure the total number ofACK/NACK responses expected from terminal devices subscribed tomulticast service “A” within the eNodeB's cell range can beaccommodated. For example, if up to 36 ACK/NACK responses can beaccommodated in a single sub-frame, and there are N terminal devicessubscribed to multicast service “A” within the eNodeB's cell range, itmay be appropriate to divide the N terminal devices into n subgroups,where n=CEILING(N/36).

The eNodeB may then be configured to communicate the value n inassociation with the downlink multicast transmission 2250 (e.g. in anadditional PDCCH field). Terminal devices may then determine anappropriate resource for their ACK/NACK response based on n and theirC-RNTI. For example, individual terminal devices may determine their ownsub-group ID by determining the value of (C-RNTI mod n). Assuming theC-RNTI values allocated by eNodeB to the various UEs are suitablydistributed, this process will ensure the terminal devices will ineffect self-organise into an appropriate number of subgroups. If theC-RNTI values are not uniformly distributed (e.g. if there are moreeven-numbered C-RNTI values allocated to subscribers of multicastservice than odd-numbered C-RNTI values), the eNodeB can take account ofthis and increase n accordingly—that is to say, the eNodeB can “oversegment” the group to ensure no sub-group has more than 36 members.Because the eNodeB knows exactly what C-RNTIs have been allocated, itcan determine how large n should be to ensure there are no subgroupswith more members than desired.

In the example of FIG. 22, it is assumed there are only two sub-groupsrequired to manage the available resources for ACK/NACK signalling, thuseach terminal device determines a HARQ timing based on the value of(C-RNTI mod 2).

The terminal devices UE X and UE Y are aware the multicast transmission2250 is intended for them based on the Group C-RNTI=“A” in the normalway. The UEs 2210, 2220 also determine their sub-group ID from the valueof n signalled by the eNodeB 2200 (in this example n=2). Here it assumedC-RNTI “X” mod 2=0, which is taken as corresponding to a multicastsubgroup ID “I”, and C-RNTI “Y” mod 2=1, which is taken as correspondingto a multicast subgroup ID “II”.

Each terminal device seeks to receive and process the transmission, andin accordance with the above-described principles of embodiments of theinvention, the terminal devices addressed by the multicast transmissionare configured to send an uplink ACK/NACK signal in response. In thisexample, it is assumed the terminal devices are configured such that ifthey are associated with a multicast subgroup ID “I”, they send theirACK/NACK response after a first time has elapsed (schematically indictedin FIG. 22 by signalling 2260), and if they are associated with amulticast subgroup ID “II”, they send their ACK/NACK response after asecond time, which is different from the first time, has elapsed(schematically indicted in FIG. 22 by signalling 2270). For example, theHARQ timing for terminal devices in multicast subgroup ID “I” might besuch that the terminal device UE X responds with ACK/NACK signalling ina sub-frame which is four sub-frames later than the downlink multicasttransmission (e.g. such as identified by reference numeral 1910 in FIG.19). The HARQ timing for terminal devices in multicast subgroup ID “II”might then be such that the terminal device UE Y responds with ACK/NACKsignalling in a sub-frame which is five sub-frames later than thedownlink multicast transmission (e.g. such as identified by referencenumeral 1920 in FIG. 19).

Again as explained above with reference to FIG. 20, in someimplementations different sub-groups might be associated with ACK/NACKresponse signalling on different carriers instead of (or in addition to)ACK/NACK signalling in different sub-frames as in FIG. 19.

In another example for handling more ACK/NACK responses than canaccommodated in a single sub-frame, the multicast group itself may ineffect be split into several smaller multicast groups having differentmulticast group IDs and each containing a number of terminal devicesthat can send an ACK/NACK response in the same sub-frame. A multicasttransmission intended for all the terminal devices in the multicastgroup may then be transmitted as separate multicast transmissionsseparately for each of the sub-groups using the corresponding multicastIDs. Terminal devices within each sub-group can then respond in themanner described above with reference to FIG. 18A to the multicasttransmission addressed to their multicast (sub-)group ID. This has theadvantage of allowing all ACK/NACK responses to be received in a givensub-frame following a multicast transmission, but relies on multipletransmissions of multicast data (because it is repeated for eachmulticast sub-group).

It will be further be appreciated that the principles described above inrelation to FIGS. 19 to 22 regarding mechanisms for managing ACK/NACKresponse signalling in more than one sub-frame of one virtual carriermay be combined with any of the principles described above for managingACK/NACK response signalling within any given sub-frame, for example asdescribed with reference to FIG. 18B. Thus a base station (eNodeB) isable to manage which uplink resource are to be used by differentterminal devices (UEs) which are members of a given multicast groupbased on two parameters, namely an indication of which resource to usewith the sub-frame structure, and an indication of which sub-frame touse. This two-parameter addressing mechanism can be an efficient way toprovide an indication of different uplink resources for potentially manydifferent terminal devices. However, it will be appreciated otherschemes for indicating which uplink resource to use may be provided. Forexample, if there are one hundred terminal devices (e.g. vendingmachines) within a base station's cell footprint subscribing to a givenmulticast service, an eNodeB may simply allocate them with one hundredconsecutive C-RNTIs. Each terminal device may then derive an appropriateuplink resource to use for ACK/NACK signalling based on its C-RNTI. Forexample, with a carrier that can accommodate n ACK/NACK responses persub-frame, a terminal device with C-RNTI “Z” might be configured torespond to a multicast transmission in sub-frame i in a sub-framei+4+FLOOR(Z/n), using a resource within the sub-frame based on thefraction part of Z/n.

It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made to theembodiments described above without departing from the scope of thepresent invention as defined in the appended claims.

For example, while the above description has focussed on animplementation of the invention in a virtual carrier context, it will beappreciated that other example embodiments of the invention may beimplemented in otherwise conventional telecommunication systems, forexample, which might not support a virtual carrier of the kind describedabove.

Furthermore, although embodiments of the invention have been describedwith reference to an LTE mobile radio network, it will be appreciatedthat the present invention can be applied to other forms of network suchas GSM, 3G/UMTS, CDMA2000, etc. The term MTC terminal as used herein canbe replaced with user equipment (UE), mobile communications device,terminal device etc. Furthermore, although the term base station hasbeen used interchangeably with cNodcB it should be understood that thereis no difference in functionality between these network entities.

Thus, there has been described a method of communicating data between abase station and a plurality of terminal devices in a wirelesstelecommunications system is described. The method comprisestransmitting data from the base station to the plurality of terminaldevices in a multicast transmission and transmitting response signalsfrom the terminal devices to the base station to indicate whether or notthe respective terminal devices have successfully received the multicasttransmission. The use of a multicast transmission provides an efficientmechanism for communicating the same data to a plurality of terminaldevice, for example as might be desired in a machine-type communicationnetwork. In combination with this, the use of individual responsesignals, such as ACK/NACK signalling, from the terminal devices allowsthe base station, or other entity, such as a machine-type communicationsserver, to track which terminal devices have indicated successfulreceipt of the multicast transmission, and to instigate an appropriatere-transmission protocol accordingly.

Further particular and preferred aspects of the present invention areset out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. It will beappreciated that features of the dependent claims may be combined withfeatures of the independent claims in combinations other than thoseexplicitly set out in the claims.

REFERENCES

-   [1] ETSI TS 122 368 V10.530 (2011-07)/3GPP TS 22.368 version 10.5.0    Release 10)-   [2] UK patent application GB 1101970.0-   [3] UK patent application GB 1101981.7-   [4] UK patent application GB 1101966.8-   [5] UK patent application GB 1101983.3-   [6] UK patent application GB 1101853.8-   [7] UK patent application GB 1101982.5-   [8] UK patent application GB 1101980.9-   [9] UK patent application GB 1101972.6-   [10] ETSI TS 136 213 V10.2.0 (2011-June)/3GPP TS 36.213 version    10.2.0 Release 10)-   [11] ETSI TS 136 321 V10.2.0 (2011-June)/3GPP TS 36.321 version    10.2.0 Release 10)

1. A method of communicating data in a wireless telecommunicationssystem, the method comprising: transmitting data from a base station toa plurality of terminal devices in a multicast transmission; andtransmitting response signals from respective ones of the terminaldevices to the base station in response to the multicast transmission toindicate whether the respective terminal devices have successfullyreceived the multicast transmission.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising conveying to respective ones of the terminal devices anindication of an uplink transmission resource to be used for theirresponse signal.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the indication of anuplink transmission resource is conveyed during a set-up procedureperformed when the respective terminal devices connect to the wirelesstelecommunications system.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the set-upprocedure comprises a Radio Resource Connection request.
 5. The methodof claim 2, wherein the indication of an uplink transmission resource isconveyed in association with the multicast transmission.
 6. The methodof claim 2, wherein the indication of an uplink transmission resource isconveyed by explicit signalling.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein theindication of an uplink transmission resource is conveyed by implicitsignalling.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the indication of anuplink transmission resource is conveyed within a radio networkidentifier.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein the indication of anuplink transmission resource comprises at least one of an indication ofa transmission resource within an uplink sub-frame, an indication of anuplink sub-frame, and an indication of an uplink carrier.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein the response signals are transmitted on a PhysicalUplink Control Channel, PUCCH.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein theresponse signals are transmitted in an uplink sub-frame of the wirelesstelecommunications system occurring at a time derived from the time of adownlink sub-frame containing the multicast transmission.
 12. The methodof claim 1, wherein different ones of the terminal devices transmittheir response signals in different uplink sub-frames and/or carriers ofthe wireless telecommunications system.
 13. The method of claim 1,further comprising determining from the response signals received at thebase station whether any terminal device has not received the multicasttransmission, and if so, re-transmitting the data from the base station.14. The method of claim 1, wherein response signals from different onesof the terminal devices are transmitted using different uplinktransmission resources.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the wirelesstelecommunications system operates in downlink over a first frequencybandwidth and in uplink over a second frequency bandwidth, and whereinthe multicast transmission is made using downlink transmission resourceson frequencies selected from within a third frequency bandwidth which issmaller than and within the first frequency bandwidth; and wherein theresponse signals from the terminal devices are transmitted using uplinktransmission resources on frequencies selected from within a fourthfrequency bandwidth which is smaller than and within the secondfrequency bandwidth.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first andsecond frequency bandwidths are the same width and/or the third andfourth frequency bandwidths are the same width.
 17. A wirelesstelecommunications system comprising a base station and a plurality ofterminal devices, wherein the base station is configured to transmitdata to a plurality of terminal devices in a multicast transmission, andwherein the terminal devices are configured to transmit response signalsto the base station in response to the multicast transmission toindicate whether they have successfully received the multicasttransmission.
 18. The wireless telecommunications system of claim 17,wherein the base station is further configured to convey to respectiveones of the terminal devices an indication of an uplink transmissionresource to be used for their response signal.
 19. The wirelesstelecommunications system of claim 18, wherein the base station isconfigured to convey the indication of an uplink transmission resourceduring a set-up procedure performed when the respective terminal devicesconnect to the wireless telecommunications system.
 20. The wirelesstelecommunications system of claim 18, wherein the set-up procedurecomprises a Radio Resource Connection request.
 21. The wirelesstelecommunications system of claim 18, wherein the base station isconfigured to convey the indication of an uplink transmission resourcein association with the multicast transmission.
 22. The wirelesstelecommunications system of claim 18, wherein the base station isconfigured to convey the indication of an uplink transmission resourceby explicit signalling.
 23. The wireless telecommunications system ofclaim 18, wherein the base station is configured to convey theindication of an uplink transmission resource by implicit signalling.24. The wireless telecommunications system of claim 23, wherein the basestation is configured to convey the indication of an uplink transmissionresource within a radio network identifier allocated to the respectiveterminal devices.
 25. The wireless telecommunications system of claim18, wherein the indication of an uplink transmission resource comprisesat least one of an indication of a transmission resource within anuplink sub-frame, an indication of an uplink sub-frame, and anindication of an uplink carrier.
 26. The wireless telecommunicationssystem of claim 17, wherein the terminal devices are configured totransmit the response signals on a Physical Uplink Control Channel,PUCCH.
 27. The wireless telecommunications system of claim 17, whereinthe terminal devices are configured to transmit the response signals inan uplink sub-frame of the wireless telecommunications system occurringat a time derived from the time of a downlink sub-frame containing themulticast transmission.
 28. The wireless telecommunications system ofclaim 17, wherein different ones of the terminal devices are arranged totransmit their response signals in different uplink sub-frames and/orcarriers of the wireless telecommunications system.
 29. The wirelesstelecommunications system of claim 17, wherein the base station isconfigured to determine from the response signals whether any terminaldevice has not received a multicast transmission, and if so, tore-transmit the data.
 30. The wireless telecommunications system ofclaim 17, wherein different ones of the terminal devices are arranged totransmit their response signals using different uplink transmissionresources.
 31. The wireless telecommunications system of claim 17,wherein the wireless telecommunications system operates in downlink overa first frequency bandwidth and in uplink over a second frequencybandwidth, and the base station is configured to transmit the multicasttransmission using downlink transmission resources on frequenciesselected from within a third frequency bandwidth which is smaller thanand within the first frequency bandwidth; and wherein the terminaldevices are configured to transmit their response signals using uplinktransmission resources on frequencies selected from within a fourthfrequency bandwidth which is smaller than and within the secondfrequency bandwidth.
 32. The wireless telecommunications system of claim31, wherein the first and second frequency bandwidths are the same widthand/or the third and fourth frequency bandwidths are the same width. 33.A method of operating a terminal device for the communication data in awireless telecommunications system, the method comprising: receivingdata transmitted by a base station to a plurality of terminal devices ina multicast transmission; and transmitting a response signal to the basestation in response to the multicast transmission to indicate whetherthe terminal device successfully received the multicast transmission.34. The method of claim 33, further comprising obtaining an indicationof an uplink transmission resource to be used by the terminal device forthe response signal.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the indicationof an uplink transmission resource is obtained from information conveyedto the terminal device during a set-up procedure performed when theterminal devices initiates a connection to the base station.
 36. Themethod of claim 34, wherein the indication of an uplink transmissionresource is obtained from information conveyed to the terminal device byimplicit signalling.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein the indicationof an uplink transmission resource is obtained from a radio networkidentifier allocated by the base station.
 38. The method of claim 33,wherein the response signal is transmitted using uplink transmissionresources which are specific to the terminal device.
 39. A terminaldevice for receiving data in a wireless telecommunications system,wherein the terminal device is configured to receive data transmitted bya base station to a plurality of terminal devices in a multicasttransmission, and wherein the terminal device is further configured totransmit a response signal to the base station in response to themulticast transmission to indicate whether the terminal devicesuccessfully received the multicast transmission.
 40. The terminaldevice of claim 39, wherein the terminal device is configured to obtainan indication of an uplink transmission resource to be used for theresponse signal.
 41. The terminal device of claim 40, wherein theterminal device is configured to obtain the indication of an uplinktransmission resource from information conveyed during a set-upprocedure performed when the terminal device connects to the wirelesstelecommunications system.
 42. The terminal device of claim 40, whereinthe set-up procedure comprises a Radio Resource Connection request. 43.The terminal device of claim 40, wherein the terminal device isconfigured to obtain the indication of an uplink transmission resourcefrom information conveyed in association with the multicasttransmission.
 44. The terminal device of claim 40, wherein the terminaldevice is configured obtain the indication of an uplink transmissionresource from information conveyed by explicit signalling.
 45. Theterminal device of claim 40, wherein the terminal device is configuredobtain the indication of an uplink transmission resource frominformation conveyed by implicit signalling.
 46. The terminal device ofclaim 45, wherein the terminal device is configured to obtain theindication of an uplink transmission resource from information conveyedwithin a radio network identifier allocated to the respective terminaldevices.
 47. The terminal device of claim 40, wherein the indication ofan uplink transmission resource comprises at least one of an indicationof a transmission resource within an uplink sub-frame, an indication ofan uplink sub-frame, and an indication of an uplink carrier.
 48. Theterminal device of claim 39, wherein the terminal device is configuredto transmit the response signal on a Physical Uplink Control Channel,PUCCH.
 49. The terminal device of claim 39, wherein the terminal deviceis configured to transmit the response signal in an uplink sub-frame ofthe wireless telecommunications system occurring at a time derived fromthe time of a downlink sub-frame containing the multicast transmission.50. The terminal device of claim 39, wherein the terminal device isconfigured to transmit the response signal in a different uplinksub-frames and/or carrier of the wireless telecommunications system ascompared to a corresponding response signal from another terminaldevice.
 51. The terminal device of claim 39, wherein the terminal deviceis operable to receive a re-transmission of the data in the event theterminal device transmits a response signal indicating the multicasttransmission was not successfully received.
 52. The terminal device ofclaim 39, wherein the terminal device is configured to transmit theresponse signal using uplink transmission resources which are specificto the terminal device for the multicast transmission.
 53. The terminaldevice of claim 39, wherein the wireless telecommunications systemoperates in downlink over a first frequency bandwidth and in uplink overa second frequency bandwidth, and the terminal device is configured toreceive the multicast transmission using downlink transmission resourceson frequencies selected from within a third frequency bandwidth which issmaller than and within the first frequency bandwidth; and to transmitthe response signal using uplink transmission resources on frequenciesselected from within a fourth frequency bandwidth which is smaller thanand within the second frequency bandwidth.
 54. The terminal device ofclaim 53, wherein the first and second frequency bandwidths are the samewidth and/or the third and fourth frequency bandwidths are the samewidth.